Gill Coliseum 7:00 p.m.
QUICK LOOK AT THE GOLDEN BEARS
Cal, 6-3, opens Pac-10 play this weekend at Oregon (Jan. 2) and Oregon State (Jan. 4). The Golden Bears pit the conference's fourth-best defense (64.8) against the conference's Top 2 in Oregon (53.7) and Oregon State (58.3), respectively. The Bears have already matched the six win total they posted each of the first two seasons under head coach Marianne Stanley. In 1996-97, Cal went 6-21, while in 1997-98, its record was 6-22. The Bears look to improve upon their 2-16 conference record each of the past two seasons. Each of those years, Cal defeated Oregon State and Arizona State at home. The Bears look to snap a 19-game Pac-10 road losing streak, dating back to Feb. 24, 1996 (win at Washington State, 91-83. Stanley is two wins shy of her 400th career victory.
Cal is off to its best start since the 1992-93 season when the Bears opened at 8-1 and went on to post the school's last winning season at 19-10, 10-8 in the Pac-10.
The Bears saw their five-game winning streak snapped with a 96-70 loss to No. 20 Florida Monday in the championship of the State Farm Classic. The five-game winning streak, culminated by a win over Vermont, was the longest since the Bears accumulated six-straight victories in 1992-93.
Through nine non-conference games, Cal demonstrated that it has a well-balanced scoring attack and that on any given night a variety of players could step up and key a victory. Junior forward Paige Bowie, last season's leading scorer, continues to lead the way for Cal at 12.3 ppg. Senior center Jennie Leander and sophomore guard Courtney Johnson have both improved their scoring production from a year ago with 10.6 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Johnson has also established herself as one of the top defenders in the Pac-10, swiping 3.3 steals/game. Freshman center Shavaki Jackson has shown the biggest strides during the non-conference slate, ranking fourth on the team in scoring at 9.1 ppg and third in rebounding at 5.1 rpg in 20 minutes/game of action. Jackson was named to the State Farm Classic all-tournament team after leading Cal with 15 points against the Gators.
PAC-10 STANDINGS
(As of 12/28)
Pac-10 Overall
Oregon State 0-0 8-1
Oregon 0-0 8-2
California 0-0 5-2
UCLA 0-0 7-3
Wash. State 0-0 6-3
Arizona State 0-0 5-3
Arizona 0-0 5-4
USC 0-0 4-4
Stanford 0-0 4-6
Washington 0-0 3-5
AROUND THE PAC-10
Dec. 28 - Cal vs. Vermont; Stanford at Colorado; Duke at UCLA
Dec. 29 - Cal at Florida; Portland at Oregon; Portland Saints at Oregon
State; USC at UCSB; Boise State at Washington
Dec. 30 - San Jose State at Arizona State; Pepperdine at UCLA
Dec. 28 - Cal vs. Vermont; Stanford at Colorado; Duke at UCLA
Jan. 2 - UCLA at Arizona; USC at Arizona State; Cal at Oregon; Stanford
at Oregon State
Pac-10 Statistical Leaders
(Through 12/28/98 games)
Scoring
1. Alke Dietel, WSU 20.6
11. Paige Bowie, CAL 13.7
Rebounds
1. Maylana Martin, UCLA 11.5
7. Jennie Leander, CAL 7.0
Assists
1. Erica Gomez, UCLA 8.9
9. Paige Bowie 3.43
Steals
1. Julia Gray, WASH 4.25
2. Courtney Johnson, CAL 3.57
Blocks
1. Jenny Mowe, ORE 1.70
t8. Shavaki Jackson, CAL 1.00
FG Percentage
1. Jenny Mowe, ORE .617
10. Shavaki Jackson, CAL .543
3-Pt Goal Percentage
1. Lisa Boyer, ORE .550
3. Paige Bowie, CAL .429
FT Percentage
1. Natalie Tucker, ASU .917
2. Courtney Johnson, CAL .870
HEAD COACH MARIANNE STANLEY, 2 WINS SHY OF 400
Marianne Stanley enters her third season at the helm of Cal's women's basketball program. A native of Upper Darby, Pa., Stanley is a 19-year coaching veteran and winner of five national championship titles as a player (2) and coach (3). She entered the 1998 campaign with a career record of 392-192 (.671), which ranks 26th in victories among all active NCAA Division I women's coaches. Stanley, 44, will become the 12th youngest coach to reach the 400 victory plateau this season.
Stanley has earned four conference coach of the year honors and national coach of the year kudos twice, in 1979 at Old Dominion and 1996 at Stanford.
Stanley is joined at Cal by third-year associate head coach Barbara Thaxton and first-year assistant coach Jualeah Woods.
1998-99 CAL SCOREBOARD
6-3 overall, 0-0 Pac-10
5-0 Home; 0-3 Road; 1-0 Neutral
Date Opponent Time/Result
11/9 Riverland Raiders (exh) W 74-53
11/12 Alvik (exh) W 85-38
11/17 Pacific W 66-58
11/28 at Virginia (17/19) L 55-70
11/30 at Ohio State L 48-73
12/4 USF W 58-46
12/17 Northwestern $ W 88-76
12/20-21 Oakland Tribune Classic
12/20 vs. Pittsburgh W 40-35
12/21 vs. Colorado St. (9/9) W 80-75
12/28-29 State Farm Classic @Florida
12/28 vs. Vermont W 58-54
12/29 at Florida (20/20) L 70-96
1/2 at Oregon * 7:00 p.m.
1/4 at Oregon State * 7:00 p.m.
1/8 at Stanford * $ 7:30 p.m.
1/14 UCLA * (8/8) 7:30 p.m.
1/16 USC * 2:00 p.m.
1/21 at Washington * 7:00 p.m.
1/23 at Washington State * ! 1:00 p.m.
1/28 Arizona State * 7:30 p.m.
1/30 Arizona * 2:00 p.m.
2/5 Stanford * 7:30 p.m.
2/12 at USC * 7:00 p.m.
2/14 at UCLA * (8/8) 2:00 p.m.
2/18 Washington St. * $ 7:30 p.m.
2/21 Washington * ! 3:00 p.m.
2/25 at Arizona * 7:00 p.m.
2/27 at Arizona State * 7:00 p.m.
3/4 Oregon State * 7:30 p.m.
3/6 Oregon * 2:00 p.m.
Home games in bold at Kaiser Arena
Times local to host institution/* Pac-10 game
! FOX Sports Net ; $ FOX Sports Bay Area
#s in ( ) are AP/USA Today-ESPN rankings
All Pac-10 games on KALX Radio (90.7 FM)
OREGON SCOUTING REPORT
A Look at Oregon (9-2, 0-0 Pac-10)
At 9-2, Oregon is off to its best start under head coach Jody Runge. Oregon returns four starters from last year's team which lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks, however, will be without the services for three to four weeks of point guard Lisa Bowyer, who suffered a broken finger earlier this week against Portland. Sophomore forward Brianne Meharry leads Oregon's offensive attack with 12.8 ppg. Redshirt sophomore Jenny Mowe entered the week tied for the Pac-10 lead for blocked shots at 1.70 pg.
In 1997-98, Oregon posted a 17-10 record and finished in fourth in the Pac-10 with a 13-5 record.
Cal-Oregon Series History
Oregon leads the series 21-10, including winning the last 10 contests. The last time the Bears defeated the Ducks was twice during the 1992-93 season.
Oregon Head Coach Jody Runge
Jody Runge is in her sixth year as head coach at the University of Oregon and overall as a collegiate head coach. She boasts a record of 104-49.
Oregon Probable Starters
POS NO NAME HT YR PTS REB
F 5 Natasha O'Brien 5-11 Sr 8.7 3.9
F 54 Brianne Meharry 6-1 So 12.8 5.5
C 34 Jenny Mowe 6-5 So 7.6 5.0
G 4 Karen Piers 5-7 So 2.8 1.9
G TBD due to Lisa Boyer injury
OREGON STATE SCOUTING REPORT
A Look at Oregon State (8-1, 0-0 Pac-10)
Oregon State along with Cal were picked to finish tied for last in the pre-season Pac-10 coaches poll and both are two of the surprises in the Pac-10 so far this season. The Beavers have won seven straight contests with their lone loss coming at home against Colorado State, 79-61. The Bears defeated CSU, 80-75, Dec. 21. Junior center Sissel Pierce leads the Beavers with 13.1 ppg and 6.7 rpg. Pierce entered the week third in the league in blocked shots at 1.67 pg.
Cal-Oregon State Series History
Oregon State leads the overall series 20-15, including a one-game winning streak overall and a six-game winning streak at Gill Coliseum. The Bears last victory over the Beavers at Gill Coliseum was 78-71 in 1992. The Bears won 77-64 in Oakland last year.
GOLDEN BEAR BREAKDOWN
By Class
Senior (4) - Jamilla Churchill, Kobie Kennon, Jennie Leander, Sherrise Smith
Junior (1) - Paige Bowie
Sophomore (4) - Lauren Ashbaugh, Kenya Corley, Courtney Johnson, Masa Radovic
Freshman (5) - Ami Forney, Janet Franey, Shavaki Jackson, Latifa Lewis, LaShanthi Rhodes
By Height
6-4 - Shavaki Jackson, Latifa Lewis
6-3 - Jennie Leander
6-2 - Lauren Ashbaugh, Ami Forney
6-1 - Jamilla Churchill, Masa Radovic
6-0 - Paige Bowie, Kobie Kennon
5-8 - Kenya Corley, Janet Franey, Courtney Johnson, LaShanthi Rhodes
5-5 - Sherrise Smith
Two Sport Athletes
Paige Bowie - softball
Jamilla Churchill - track & field
CAL ON RADIO
For the 17th consecutive year, KALX (90.7 FM) will carry all California home games and all of the Pac-10 road games. Each broadcast begins five minutes prior to tip-off.
BEARS ON TV
At least five Cal games will be broadcast this season. Those games are vs. Northwestern (FSBA), Dec. 17; at Stanford (FSBA), Jan. 8, at Washington State (FSN), Jan. 23; vs. Washington State (FSBA), Feb. 18, and vs. Washington (FSN), Feb. 21.
WWW.CALBEARS.COM
All Cal releases, results, statistics, box scores, schedules and coaches and players biographical information, as well as historical data, is available on the Intenet at www.calbears.com. Game recaps and statistics are updated after each contest.
INFO ON FAX-ON-DEMAND
All Cal basketball releases and statistics are available to the media using Info Connection. Please call the Cal media relations office for further information.
Oregon State Head Coach Judy Spoelstra (Oregon State '83)
Judy Spoelstra is in her fourth season as OSU's head coach. Spoelstra is 45-47 (.489) in four seasons at OSU and is 143-115 (.554) in 10 seasons as a collegiate head coach, her first six being at Montana State.
Oregon State Probable Starters
POS NO NAME HT YR PTS REB
F 3 Tammy Arnold 6-3 Jr 10.4 6.7
F 34 Felicia Ragland 5-9 Fr 6.1 4.2
C 32 Sissel Pierce 6-4 Jr 13.1 6.7
G 21 Chassie Wiersma 5-11 Fr 8.3 4.4
G 25 Cherrith Wiersma 5-9 Fr 4.8 2.8
GOLDEN BEAR NOTES
CAL OFF TO BEST START SINCE 1992-93, BEST UNDER STANLEY
Cal is off to its best start since the 1992-93 season when the Bears opened at 8-1 and went on to post the school's last winning season and last NCAA Tournament appearance at 19-10, 10-8 in the Pac-10. The Bears already have matched the six-win total (6-3) of the first two seasons under head coach Marianne Stanley. In Stanley's inaugural 1996-97 season, Cal went 6-21 and in 1997-98, Cal posted a 6-22 mark.
CAL RECEIVES VOTES IN AP POLL
Following Cal's upset of No. 9 Colorado State (80-75) last week, Cal received eight votes in the Associated Press poll, technically ranking them 35th in the nation. The votes were the first received by the Bears under coach Stanley in either the AP or USA Today/ESPN coaches polls
CAL WINS FIFTH STRAIGHT FOR FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS
Cal saw its five-game winning streak snapped with its loss to Florida Tuesday in the championship of the State Farm Classic. The five-game winning streak was the longest since the 1992-93 season when the Bears won six straight. The longest winning streak in school history is 10 set during the 1981-82 and 1986-87 seasons.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GOAND WIN
Cal has shot 29 percent twice this season and won both contests. The Bears defeated USF 58-46 and Pitt 40-35. The last time Cal scored 40 or less points and won happened three times during the Bears inaugural 1973-74 season. The Bears shot a season's-best .527 in their win over CSU. Three times Cal won with a shooting percentage between 30-39 percent.
BEARS STEP UP DEFENSIVE INTENSITY IN 1998
Cal has allowed opponents only 64.8 points per game, far ahead of last season's 70.9 points per game pace. The Bears ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in defense to start the week (61.9) behind Oregon (54.3), Oregon State (58.3) and Arizona State (59.9). Cal's lowest opponent output this season was Pitt's 35 points, while the 96 points it allowed Florida earlier in the week was by far the most points Cal has given up this season.
CAL TEAM TURNOVER TOTAL DOWN
Cal is averaging 18.4 turnovers per game this season compared to 22.3 miscues per game last season. The Bears had a season-low 11 turnovers against Colorado State. Against Florida, Cal committed a season-high 25 turnovers. The return of senior Sherrise Smith to the point this season has helped Cal improve in the turnover category.
PAC-10 PRE-SEASON POLLS
Coaches Media
1. UCLA UCLA
2. Stanford Stanford
3. Oregon Oregon
4. Washington Washington
5. Arizona Arizona
6. USC USC
7. Arizona State Arizona State
8. Washington St. Washington St.
9t. California 9. Oregon St.
9t. Oregon State 10. California
BEARS RECORD WHEN THEY
Led at half-time 4-0
Trailed at half-time 1-3
Were tied at half-time 1-0
Went into overtime 0-0
Led by 10 or more points 5-0
Shot FG 60% or better 0-0
Shot FG 50% or better 1-0
Shot FG less than 50% 5-3
Shot FG less than 40% 5-2
Shot FG less than 30 % 2-0
Score in 40's 1-1
Score in 50's 2-1
Score in 60's 1-0
Score in 70's 0-1
Score in 80's 2-0
GLANCE AT CAL HISTORY
Career Rebounds
1. Colleen Galloway 1029
2. Kesha Martin 875
3. Teresa Palmisano 874
4. Cynthia Cooke 855
5. Jennifer Bennett 812
6. Amanda Ray 795
7. Ingrid Dixson 789
8. Trisha Stafford 721
9. Chris Sellin 703
10. Jennie Leander 694
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
1. Liz Rizzo 460
2. Jennifer Self 430
3. Laura Baker 325
4. Kelly Tatum 295
5. Patrycja Czepiec 289
6. Chris Holten 229
7. Paige Bowie 212
8. Milica Vukadinovic 208
9. Eliza Sokolowska 144
10. Kim Robinson 126
Leander started the season ranked 10th on the Cal career rebounding chart and is on pace to finish in the Top 5. Bowie surpassed former All-American Milica Vukadinovic for seventh on the career 3-point FG attempt list. Bowie is 8th for Cal career 3-pointers made (64), 17 away from Meetz in 7th place (81).
BOWIE LEADS THE WAY OFFENSIVELY
Junior forward Paige Bowie leads Cal with 12.3 ppg. She has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in five-of-nine games this season. Bowie's best game came against Northwestern, where she hit for a career-high 30 points. Bowie is the first Bear to score over 30 points in a game since Eliza Sokolowska accomplished that feat versus USC, Feb. 25, 1995.
The Fresno, Calif., native also set school records for three pointers made (8) and attempted (15) against Northwestern.
JOHNSON, ONE OF THE PAC-10'S BEST DEFENDERS
Sophomore guard Courtney Johnson is establishing herself as one of the premier defenders in the Pac-10. Johnson set a career high for steals with 8 (30 on the season) against Northwestern including three during Cal's 25-10 run to close the game. She followed that effort up with 6 against Pitt. The Antioch, Calif., native leads Cal with 3.3 steals per game and ranked second in the Pac-10 earlier in the week behind Julia Gray of Washington's 4.25.
Johnson led Cal in steals as a freshman at 1.7 per game and has almost doubled that pace this season. After making 47 steals in 1997-98, Johnson already has 30 steals this season.
JACKSON OFF TO STELLAR FRESHMAN SEASON
Freshman center Shavaki Jackson came to Cal as a Parade All-American and has proven worthy of that recognition. The Berkeley native is Cal's top player off the bench, averaging 9.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg and 0.8 bpg in 20 minutes/contest. She ranks fourth on the team in scoring and is third in rebounding. Earlier in the week, Jackson earned the first of likely many all-tournament selections as she paced Cal with 15 points against Florida in the championship game of the State Farm Classic.
STANLEY TWO WINS SHY OF 400 WINS
Cal head coach Marianne Stanley, 44, is two wins shy of becoming the 12th youngest NCAA Division I women's basketball coach to top the 400 victory plateau. Stanley's career record stands at 398-195 (.671). She could accomplish the feat as soon as at Oregon State, Jan. 4. Stanley began the season as the 26th winningest active Division I women's coach.
CAL LOSES TO FLORIDA IN STATE FARM CLASSIC FINAL
After remaining within striking distance for three quarters of the game, California saw its five-game winning streak snapped with a 96-70 loss to 20th-ranked Florida Tuesday at the State Farm Classic Championship in Gainesville, Fla. Cal freshman center Shavaki Jackson came away with her first of likely many all-tournament selections as she paced the Bears with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Down 40-33 at the half, the Bears got out of the second half gate quickly, cutting the Lady Gators lead to three at 42-39. The Gators answered with a 7-0 run, extending their lead to 49-39 at the 15:20 mark. The lead fluctuated between 10 and 14 points until Florida made its move with the score 58-48 at 11:44.
CAL DEFEATS VERMONT 58-54, ADVANCES TO FINAL
Cal won its fifth-consecutive game with a 58-54 decision over Vermont in the first round of the State Farm Classic. The Bears never trailed in the game after jumping out to an 11-0 lead. The Catamounts got as close as 31-30 in the second half. Sherrise Smith led a balanced scoring attack for the Bears with 13 points. Jennie Leander and Shavaki Jackson each contributed 12 points, while Courtney Johnson added 11. Leander also led the Bears with 8 rebounds, moving her 13 rebounds (690) behind Chris Sellin (703) for ninth on the team's career rebounding chart.
