BERKELEY -- In one of the premiere matchup's of opening weekend, two of the nation's elite programs meet when Cal women's basketball faces No. 9 Louisville on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT in the KFC Yum! Center.
The game marks the third contest between the teams in the last four years, with Louisville owning a 2-0 advantage in the series that started in 2012-13, when the Cardinals ousted the Golden Bears from the Final Four in Cal's historic NCAA Tournament run. Similar to the Bears, the Cardinals begin their season without three starters who helped Louisville to a Sweet 16 berth, and debut a crop of talented newcomers.
Fans can catch the action on ESPN3, while live stats and radio links are available at GoCards.com. The @CalWBball twitter will also provide score updates along with behind-the-scenes photos and information.
FAST FACTS
• Cal moved to 27-16 all-time in season openers with its win over Austin Peay.
• Lindsay Gottlieb is 4-1 in ALL season openers at Cal, and 2-1 in season openers ON THE ROAD.
• Courtney Range's 23 points were the 2nd-most in the Pac-12 on opening night.
A CALIFORNIA WIN WOULD
• Give Cal a 2-0 start to the season for the third time in head coach Lindsay Gottlieb's career
• Be Cal's first all-time win over the Cardinals.
• Be the first ROAD win over a Top 10 team since the Bears knocked off No. 5 Stanford (67-55) on Jan. 13, 2013.
• It would also be Cal's first OVERALL win over a TOP 10 opponent since Jan. 13, 2013.
• Be Cal's first REGULAR-SEASON win over a Top 25 ranked opponent since the Bears' 63-53 win over No. 18 Stanford on Feb. 22, 2015
RANKINGS ROUNDUP
Cal is receiving votes in both the USA Today and Associated Press preseason polls.
A LOOK AT LOUISVILLE
Series Record: Louisville leads, 2-0
Previous Meeting: Cal lost, 70-57, on Dec. 21, 2014
Louisville's Last Outing: Sunday's contest with Cal will be Louisville's season opener.
• The Cardinals lost three starters from last year's squad, which went 27-7 and reached the Sweet 16.
• Louisville was picked to finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• The Cardinals are led by returning All-Americans Mariya Moore and Myisha Hines-Allen.
• Moore led the Cardinals with 13.4 points per game last season on top of 121 assists and 55 steals.
• Hines-Allen shot 55.8 percent, good for 13th nationally, while averaging 11.8 ppg and 4.9 rebounds per game.
• Cortnee Walton is expected to make her return after sitting her junior season out due to injury.
• Louisville's five-member freshman class was ranked the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, and includes top-ranked prospect Asia Durr, a member of the ACC Newcomer Watch List.
LAST TIME OUT
Courtney Range led the Bears to a season-opnening victory with a 23-point night against Austin Peay State. Despite a 34.7 percent shooting night from the Bears, Range scored 13 second-half points as Cal defeated the Lady Governors 67-58 in Clarksville, Tenn. APSU kept it close with the help of Tiasha Gray, who racked up 28 points in the contest, including 17 on the first half to propel the Lady Govs within two points of Cal, 33-31, at halftime. Cal scored a game-best 22 points in the third quarter, including 12 from Range, to widen the gap. An end-of-quarter triple by Gabby Green punctuated Cal's third quarter and sparked the Bears the rest of the way. Four newcomers made their California debut, with Kristine Anigwe (11 points) and Asha Thomas (10 points) leading their freshmen class.
NEXT UP
The Bears return to Berkeley to make their Haas Pavilion debut in a two-game homestand starting with the annual School Haas Rock game. Cal will host UC Riverside, as well as a host of schoolchildren, in a contest that includes a pre-game education assembly and academic demonstrations during timeouts. Game time is set for 11:30 a.m.
FRESHMEN SHOW NO GROWING PAINS IN EXHIBITION
Cal walked away with a 91-39 victory over NAIA opponent Westmont in an exhibition at Haas Pavilion on Sunday. The Bears jumped out to a 22-8 lead in the first quarter and cruised the rest of the way, shooting 67 percent (35-52) from the floor. Four Cal players finished in double figures, led by freshman Kristine Anigwe's 19. Rookie Asha Thomas added another 18 for the Bears. Cal showcased its versatility as head coach Lindsay Gottlieb mixed and matched her personnel, with all four healthy freshmen making their Haas Pavilion debuts.
SUCCESS UNDER GOTTLIEB
The Golden Bears have enjoyed unprecedented success in head coach Lindsay Gottlieb's time at the helm. In her second season, Gottlieb helped Cal to its first Pac-12 Regular-Season Championship (2012-13) and the prrogram's first-ever Elite Eight and Final Four appearances. Under Gottlieb, the Bears have not finished lower than third in the Pac-12 any season of her head coaching tenure. She posted the most wins in a four-year period of any Golden Bear women's basketball coach, and is one of only three coaches in the Pac-12 (Tara VanDerveer, Charli Turner Thorne) to reach 100 wins at their respective institutions. Additionally, Gottlieb has coached four Cal players to six All-America seasons: Brittany Boyd (2015, 2014); Reshanda Gray (2015); Layshia Clarendon (2013, 2012); Gennifer Brandon (2013), with four WNBA Draft selections since 2012-13.
EYE ON THE NLI'S
Cal's 2016-17 squad is in solid shape with the addition of two four-star prepsters who inked NLIs at the start of the early signing period. Cal Sparks teammates Jaelyn Brown and Celeste Joi 'CJ' West will join the Bears next season.
Brown (Murrietta, Calif.) is the nation's 10th-ranked wing and No. 54 overall according to ESPN HoopGurlz, averaging a career 16. ppg, 10.5 rpg, 3.4 spg, 2.7 apg and 1.2 bpg entering her senior season at Vista Murrieta High School.
The No. 15 post player in the 2016 class, West (Bakersfield, Calif.) has turned in more than 1,500 points and 1,500 rebounds in three seasons at Garces Memorial High School. As a junior, West put up 18.8 points, 14.3 rebounds, 2.1 bloks, 1.8 steals and 1.1 assists per game.
2015-16 TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2015-16 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $27 ($1.59 per game, 17 games) for youth and seniors and $84 ($4.94 per game, 17 games) for adult general admission tickets, while single-game tickets are available starting at $3 for youth and seniors and $8 for adults. For more information, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.
JOIN THE BEARS ON THISISCALBASKETBALL.COM
Cal's one-of-a-kind multimedia fan site, ThisIsCalBasketball.com, is back for its fifth season and once again features an unprecedented look into the inner workings of the personalities behind the Cal women's basketball's roster. Visitors to ThisIsCalBasketball.com can get an in-depth look at the people behind the jerseys, from action and portrait photos to bio videos told in their teammates' own words. New to the site this year is The Challenge, a six-part reality show-style miniseries based on the Bears' Amazing Race-esque hunt around campus.
KEEP POSTED
Stay up-to-date on the latest Cal women's basketball news by following the Bears on social media. View behind-the-scenes photos and videos and learn more about Cal and its student-athletes on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).
