Cal women’s basketball team under new coach Lindsay Gottlieb won its exhibition game against Vanguard, 99-58, at Haas Pavilion on Thursday night.
Freshman Watch:
Gottlieb came into Berkeley with a top-10 recruiting class. As it was an exhibition, Gottlieb gave freshmen Brittany Boyd, Justine Hartman, Erika Johnson and Reshanda Gray plenty of playing time to get their feet wet for the first time at Haas Pavilion.
Boyd by far had the best game between the freshmen — and the entire team. The Berkeley native was everywhere, dazzling the crowd with one-hand dishes and drive-in layups. The guard’s stats speak for her all-around performance, as Boyd finished the game with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists — more than enough to be the player of the game.
The highly-touted Hartman sparked inside the paint. Although the forward is not as strong and fundamental as star center Talia Caldwell, Hartman’s game is smoother and possesses more variety in offense than Caldwell’s. She finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Despite leaving the game early in the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury, she looks to be OK as she was able to walk off the court into the locker room.
Gray and Johnson did not shine as much Hartman or Boyd, but they showed glimpses of what they could be. Gray finished the game with 13 points, showing her potential as a scoring forward. Johnson did not etch many significant stats, but she showed her defensive capability with her length and speed.
Guess Who’s Back?
Lindsay Gottlieb, who was the assistant coach under Joanne Boyle in 2005 -08 season, came back to Berkeley as the head coach of the program. After leaving Cal for three seasons, Gottlieb came back as nervous as the freshmen players in their first home game of the season.
“I got the chills when the lights (during player introductions) went off,” Gottlieb said. “It was better than I could have imagined.”
Gottlieb was all smiles for most of the game as the Bears routed the Lions in her Cal head coaching debut. For most of the players, the biggest impression of their new head coach was the pre-game speech.
“The talk before the match was so inspiring,” forward Gennifer Brandon said. “She knows how to get a team pumping.”
Lessons of the Day
Everything about the game really should be taken with a grain salt since the game was only an exhibition and the opponent are a couple of notches below the Bears in terms of talent, size and depth.
“It’s an exhibition for everybody,” Gottlieb said. “It was good to just let the players get in their uniforms on.”
A slight concern for Gottlieb’s girls was the amount of turnovers during the contest. Compared to Vanguard’s 15 turnovers, Cal chalked up 23, most due to missed passes and traveling.
“We are a team that wants to play fast,” Gottlieb said. “Some of the turnovers were because we were jittery and excited, but we will progress as the season continues.”
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