WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW
CAL: With expectations raised, second place in the Pac- 12 won’t be good enough for the Bears.
BERKELEY — Coach Lindsay Gottlieb has raised the bar, and that means second place in the Pac- 12 won’t be good enough this season for the Cal women’s basketball team.
“I can say the goal is a championship this year because we’re ready for that,” Gottlieb said. “And that’s said with all due respect to Stanford because they are clearly the favorite until somebody beats them.”
When Gottlieb returned to Cal last season, she inherited a team that was middle of the pack. So the goal became a top four finish in the conference and an NCAA tournament berth. The Golden Bears exceeded those expectations, finishing second in the conference, advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament and going 25- 10 overall.
But with every roster spot this season filled by a returning player — including three key seniors recruited by Gottlieb while a Cal assistant before leaving for three seasons as head coach at UC Santa Barbara — Cal is ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation and is a strong second- place pick in the Pac- 12. The Bears received the lone first- place vote that didn’t go to the Cardinal.
Gottlieb welcomes the fact that Stanford is about only 40 miles from Berkeley.
“Having Stanford nearby is a good thing,” Gottlieb said. “People want rivalries. Everyone around here is eager for Cal to be good enough to compete with them.”
The seniors Gottlieb is counting on to lead Cal are:
Layshia Clarendon, a 5- foot- 9 guard from San Bernardino who averaged 12.8 points to lead the team last season. “She’s a WNBA prospect,” Gottlieb said. “Her numbers weren’t out of this world because we’re so balanced, but I think any WNBA scout or knowledgeable coach will tell you she’s as complete a guard as you’re going to get.”
Talia Caldwell, a 6- 3 center from Los Angeles who and averaged 6.7 rebounds per game in 2011- 12. “Early in her career, you would have said blue- collar worker, tons of rebounds,” Gottlieb said. “But now she’s added a repertoire of offensive weapons. She’s deceptively quick.”
Eliza Pierre, a 5- 7 point guard from Pasadena who lost her starting job last season but accepted her first- off- the- bench role and served as mentor to then- freshman Brittany Boyd. “She’s the best defensive player in the country on the ball,” Gottlieb said of Pierre. “The kid can make good decisions.”
The Bears are looking for offense from 6- 3 forward Reshanda Gray and the 5- 9 Boyd, who grew up in Berkeley and quickly became a crowd favorite at Haas Pavilion. The two finished second and third in scoring last season, averaging 10.5 and 10.2 points, respectively.
“With Reshanda in the post, they feed off each other well,” Gottlieb said.
The schedule challenge for Cal goes beyond the usual two games against Stanford. The Golden Bears travel cross- country to meet No. 3- ranked Duke on Dec. 2 and are at home to play Kansas on Dec. 21.
Caldwell, whose father Ravin Caldwell earned two Super Bowl rings as a linebacker with the Washington Redskins, said familiarity with the up- tempo offense and high- pressure defense that Gottlieb favors should help Cal elevate its game.
“It’s clearer now. We know exactly how we want to play,” she said. “You’re not learning anything new. You’re just adding on and getting better and better.”