SAN FRANCISCO – In March, the Cal women's basketball team took Seattle by storm, rattling off a string of upsets to reach the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. Seven months later, the Golden Bears continue to draw on that magical experience as they look to bounce back from last year's 15-17 record with the start of the 2016-17 campaign just weeks away.

Speaking at Thursday's Pac-12 Women's Basketball Media Day, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb – who recently agreed to a contract extension through the 2020-21 season - said, "We didn't accomplish the things we wanted to accomplish last year, and yet we tasted what we're capable of. A lot of teams don't get that experience, and so I come back with a team that's hungrier than any that I've ever had, probably more competitive and very driven."

Cal returns eight letter winners from the 2015-16 campaign, representing 93 percent of last year's scoring, the highest percent returning by any team in the conference. That core features four starters from last season, including sophomore Kristine Anigwe and senior Courtney Range, both of whom accompanied Gottlieb to Thursday's media event at the conference offices in San Francisco.

The near-consensus National Freshman of the Year last season, Anigwe scored in double-figures in 30 of her 31 games and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Yet despite averaging 20.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, Gottlieb believes Anigwe's best may have to come:
 
"Kristine is probably the most improved player on the team," Gottlieb said. "She's a better offensive rebounder, in better shape, has better range on her shot, and has matured."

The lone freshman to earn WBCA All-America honors last season and the highest scoring freshman in Cal history, Anigwe noted her own growth over the offseason: "I have a year under my belt now, and it really helped… it helped me mature as a person and as a player."  

Anigwe is not the only person the Bears will look to for both production and experience in the coming year. The aptly-named Courtney Range is back for her senior season after finishing second on the team in scoring last season. A constant presence on the glass with the ability to also hit outside shots, Range brings valuable versatility and leadership to the Bears' team. 
 
"Courtney has done an incredible job of leading us," Gottlieb said. "I think when you become a senior, you start to have that perspective of what does the team and the program need from me, and she brings that mentality."

"Individually I'm just trying to give everything that I can to this team in order to have a successful year," Range said. "Knowing that it is my last season, I want it to be as memorable as possible. As a team, we've bought in to what we're trying to do, and we know that we need all 12 girls we have now to do that."

In addition to the eight returners, the Bears have also added a trio of talented freshman -  Mi'Cole Cayton, Jaelyn Brown, and Celeste 'CJ' West -  and sophomore transfer Sara Anastasieska as they look to return to the top of the highly-competitive Pac-12. 

This year, the Pac-12 coaches picked Cal to finish sixth in the conference, the Golden Bears earning a total of 71 points. It is the 11^th consecutive season that Cal has been projected to finish in the top half of the league, a streak that began with the 2006-07 campaign. UCLA finished first in the 2016-17 coaches poll with 8 first-place votes. Stanford and Washington also received first-place votes.

The Pac-12 sent two teams to the Final Four last season and led the nation in RPI. Yet despite the strength of the conference, Gottlieb's team believes it can improve upon last year's tenth-place finish.

"I don't think we have a group that is comfortable with six," Gottlieb said. "Preseason [poll] stuff doesn't matter. But in terms of motivating them to get where we want to go, I know that six as a final number doesn't sit well with them."

The Bears host Westmont in an exhibition game on Sunday, November 6, before kicking off the regular season on November 11 at Saint Mary's.

2016-17 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. UCLA (8 first-place votes, 116 points)                
2. Stanford (2 first-place votes, 110 points)
3. Washington (2 first-place votes, 93 points)
4. Arizona State (89)
5. Oregon State (81)        
6. California (71)           
7. Oregon (69)                  
8. Utah (52)                   
9. USC (44)                      
10. Washington State (31)
11. Colorado (22)              
12. Arizona (14) 
(First-place votes in parenthesis)