Two years ago, the Cal women’s basketball team finished the season with an 18-16 record and in the second round of the WNIT. The prospect of a Pac-12 title was nothing more than a distant dream.
On Saturday in the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, the dream came true. Cal (27-2, 17-1 in the Pac-12) crushed the Huskies, 78-50, winning a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with Bay Area rivals Stanford.
“This is better than anything I could have imagined, because this entire team has worked for every ounce of this,” Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.
For the first time in their 40-year program history, the Bears clinched the conference title. Doing what eight preceding coaches failed to achieve, Gottlieb reached the promised land in just her second year on the job.
The turnaround that the 35-year old Gottlieb brought to the club in two years has been astounding. Taking over a program in slow decline and in the perennial shadow of Stanford, Gottlieb brought a newer, faster and more aggressive style to the program and created a Final Four contender.
Tapping into the potential of the 2009 recruiting class of Layshia Clarendon, Talia Caldwell and Gennifer Brandon, Gottlieb took the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Last year’s team was good. This year’s team is the best in program history.
With every player from last season returning, Gottlieb and the Bears elevated themselves neck-and-neck with the Cardinal. After losing to No. 4 Stanford at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 8, Cal defeated the Cardinal at Stanford, starting a 15-game winning streak.
The win against the Huskies (19-10, 11-7) was a trademark Cal victory. Cal dominated the paint and boards and stifled the opposing offense. Caldwell, Brandon and guard Brittany Boyd all had double-doubles in points and rebounds.
The senior Caldwell had arguably the game of her Cal career in her last regular-season game. Scoring a career-high 22 points, Caldwell made 10 consecutive baskets before missing her last shot of the game.
The center also ground out 13 rebounds, seven of which were offensive rebounds.
“I didn’t think about the celebration,” Caldwell said. “I only thought about winning it. I forgot about this part. It’s so amazing.”
Brandon finished the game with 12 points and 15 rebounds. The 5-foot-9 Boyd recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Bears out-rebounded Washington, 56-22. Cal had more offensive rebounds (23) than the Huskies’ total rebounds in the game.
From the tip-off, Cal grasped full control of the game. The Bears started the game on a 9-0 run and never gave up the lead.
Seniors Caldwell and Clarendon led Cal to a 39-28 advantage into halftime. Clarendon initially carried the torch for the Bears’ offense, scoring 10 points in the first half, but fell cold and scored no points in the second half.
But Caldwell kept the team’s offensive drumbeat in pace with seven consecutive points in the beginning of the second half. While the lead was cut down by as much as seven in the opening minutes of the frame, Cal opened the lead wider and wider by each passing minute.
By the 14-minute mark in the second half, the game was looking like it was over, and the title seemed in sight. The Bears tried their best to keep their cool, but sometimes the excitement spilled onto the court; backup guard Mikayla Lyles was charged with a technical foul for excessive celebration after a Caldwell basket.
“We’re going to be able to breathe a little bit after this,” Gottlieb said. “They may not have acted like it, but I have felt some pressure the last couple of weeks to finish this.”
As soon as the final buzzer rang, the Cal players celebrated on the court, with Gottlieb in the center of the pile.
“”You don’t ever expect a moment like this, but it was everything you would expect it to be,” Gottlieb said.
Contact Seung Y. Lee at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @sngyn92.