With a solid foundation in place, Caren Horstmeyer enters her third season as head coach of the California women's basketball team. Under Horstmeyer's direction, it is clear that the Golden Bears are on track to return to the success they experienced in the early 1990s.
Her inaugural 2000-01 Cal team won eight Pac-10 games, which was the program's most conference wins since 1992-93. Following a five-game Pac-10 winning streak in the middle of the season, Horstmeyer had Cal on the brink of its first postseason berth since 1993.
After losing seven seniors to graduation, Horstmeyer developed a young Bears' squad in 2001-02. All seven freshmen received ample playing time, showed vast improvement and are prepared to help Cal have a breakthrough season in 2002-03.
In only two seasons, Horstmeyer's Cal teams have collected five All-Pac-10 honors. Courtney Johnson led the way in 2000-01 with a first team All-Pac-10 selection, the school's first in six years.
Horstmeyer, 40, was hired at Cal on April 17, 2000, after spending 12 seasons as head coach at Santa Clara, where she compiled a 221-124 record and became the winningest women's basketball coach in West Coast Conference history. Her .641 winning percentage stands as the second best in school history. She guided the Broncos to six postseason appearances, including four NCAA Tournament selections and the 1991 WNIT championship, along with six WCC regular season titles and two WCC Tournament crowns. In the 1990s, Horstmeyer led SCU to four-consecutive WCC regular season crowns from 1991-94, and her teams only once finished lower than third in league play. (More)
