SMU women’s basketball ends its 2025-26 season with a 78-34 loss at Cal as Miriam Ibezim and Grace Hall wrap up their Mustang careers.
The bleeding has finally stopped for the SMU women’s basketball team. The Mustangs wrapped up their 2025-26 regular season Sunday afternoon with a 78-34 road loss to California, closing year two in the ACC at 9-20 overall and 2-16 in conference play.
The Mustangs battled, but Cal’s perimeter shooting proved overwhelming.
The Golden Bears knocked down 15 3-pointers and shot 50 percent from beyond the arc, building separation early and never allowing SMU to find offensive rhythm inside Haas Pavilion.
SMU struggled to generate consistent scoring, finishing at 20 percent from the field.
Even then, the Mustangs continued to compete on the defensive end and on the glass. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to Cal’s 13 and forced 15 turnovers, adding nine steals to push their season total to 301, the program’s highest mark in steals since the 2012-13 campaign.
Senior Miriam Ibezim led SMU in her final collegiate appearance, scoring a season-high 11 points while pulling down nine rebounds.
Fellow senior Grace Hall, also playing her last game as a Mustang, made her presence felt defensively with four blocked shots, her third game this season with four rejections.
Sophomore Zahra King added nine points and went 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. King entered the game ranked among the ACC’s most efficient guards, shooting 44 percent from the floor and sitting inside the conference’s top 12 in scoring at 14.6 points per game.
California seized control late in the first quarter with a decisive run and carried that momentum into halftime, where SMU trailed by 20.
The Golden Bears continued their long-range barrage in the second half, stretching the margin as SMU searched for answers offensively.
Despite the final score, the Mustangs finished the year with notable defensive strides.
SMU totaled 132 blocks this season - its most since 2017-18 - with Anaya Brown and Grace Hall both ranking inside the ACC’s top 10 in total blocks, making them the only teammate duo in the conference to achieve that distinction.
Head coach Adia Barnes closes her first season in Dallas with a foundation built on defensive pressure and effort.
With a roster overhaul ahead and key returners like King, the Mustangs now turn their focus toward development and regrouping for 2026-27.