In the preseason, Cal women's basketball coach Joanne Boyle listed grabbing one of the top few seeds at the Big Dance as a realistic target for the surging program.

After shattering school records in wins and posting their best Pac-10 record to date, the Bears (26-6) have gotten their way and will enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3, joining top-seeded Connecticut and No. 2-seed Rutgers in the Greensboro, N.C., region.

No. 14-seeded San Diego awaits Cal in its first-round tilt, which will take place at Maples Pavilion in Stanford on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. With a win, Cal will stay in Palo Alto, Calif., and book a second-round date with either George Washington or Auburn on Monday.

"Being able to play at home where we get to be in our comfort zone with our routine, I think it's big," Boyle said. "Being able to get that three seed, and the committee showing respect to the conference, I thought was huge."

In 2006-Boyle's first year at Cal-the Bears grabbed one of the last couple seeds late in the selection show, causing the locker room to erupt into what the coach described as "mayhem." Cal easily made the cut again in 2007, but was bubbled into one of the Tourney's tougher first-round slots as an eight seed. The team did not advance past the first round in either postseason endeavor.

Monday, the Bears' gradual progression bore fruit. Cal accepted its program-best third consecutive NCAA bid, and naturally, the team's expectations have shifted.

"I think there's a different expectation when, you know, we've built it for three years," Boyle said. "And three years going in, (the players) are not satisfied with just going to the Tournament. Those were some goals we talked about at the very beginning of the season, getting to the Sweet 16 and really advancing and not being just one and done."

The Toreros (19-12) and the Colonials (25-6) are relative unknowns to Cal, aside from Boyle's slight familiarity with George Washington from her days as Richmond's head coach.

If the Bears advance as far as the regionals, they could be in for a rematch against the Scarlet Knights (24-6). In center Devanei Hampton's second week back early this year, Cal fell short in Piscataway, N.J., conceding a 56-51 result to Rutgers on Dec. 10, 2007.

Guard Alexis Gray-Lawson seemed to revel in the possibility of a rerun in Greensboro.

"Oh, we are amped, we are hot," Gray-Lawson said. "I had just gotten back, Devanei had just her second game back from her surgery, so we weren't really prepared for the game (earlier during the regular season). But we fought hard, as hard as we possibly could with probably no fans but our parents. This will be a big thing for us. We are all back, we are all prepared, we are all ready and I know Rutgers is."

Still, the Scarlet Knights may be looking even further into the bracket. In one of the more questionable decisions by the committee this year, Rutgers and the Huskies (32-1)-two Big East standouts-could potentially meet in the Elite Eight.

Moreover, Pac-10 champion Stanford surprisingly received a No. 2 seed in the Spokane, Wash., region, conceding the top slot to Maryland, much to the visible distraught of Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer on ESPN. Arizona State received the Pac-10's third bid as a six-seed.

Tags: NCAA TOURNAMENT