Mizzou women’s basketball preparing to face Cal in ACC/SEC challenge

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou women's basketball is preparing for its toughest task of the season.

The ACC/SEC Challenge returns for the 2025-26 season, where the Tigers will take on the Cal Golden Bears.

After a successful 3-0 trip to Florida over the Thanksgiving week, MU will be back in Mizzou Arena on Thursday. For just the third time in program history, Mizzou will face Cal, a team expected to give head coach Kellie Harper's squad their biggest challenge yet.

"This will be the biggest, most athletic team we've played thus far," said Harper. "They'll be the team, up to this point, that will resemble an SEC team more than anybody else we've played."

You can find the full interview with head coach Kellie Harper in the video player above.

The Golden Bears will come to Columbia off the back of a loss against Auburn, and despite having a similar record to the Tigers, they could cause MU some problems with their size and speed.

"They're big, they're good, they're athletic, they're going to be a problem," said Harper. "It's a great opportunity for our team to come out and play a really quality opponent."

Mizzou and Cal are set to tip off Thursday, Dec. 4, in Mizzou Arena at 8 p.m.