Practice Continues For Cal Women’s Basketball
BERKELEY – It has been eight days since the California women’s basketball team hit the practices courts to officially signal the start of 2013-14 preparations, and the Golden Bears have met seven times since last Tuesday.
Redshirt junior Brittany Shine is one Golden Bear that fans will be anxious to see at Haas Pavilion this season. A Sacramento native, Shine attended the University of Florida for two years before returning back to her Northern California roots and transferring to Cal last year. Now officially eligible to compete in Berkeley, Shine has certainly relished the opportunity to suit up knowing that she is preparing not only her teammates for games, but now herself as well.
“It’s been cool,” Shine said of practicing with the team now that she is completely eligible. “I’m transitioning into playing mode again instead of having practices be my games like they were last year. I’m excited to finally get to get out there on the court and play.”
Noted as one of the fastest players on the Golden Bears roster, the new No. 23 has looked forward to these practices where the coaching staff has already instilled the fundamental aspects of the defense that the team wants to play and “making sure we’re in the right spots so that everyone knows where they need to be at the right times.”
With the season just four weeks away, Shine is looking forward to finally getting the opportunity to play in front of her family and friends that have watched her and fellow transfer Kyra Dunn most of their lives. Dunn, who transferred from the University of Pittsburgh, and Shine have played together since they were 10 years old in Sacramento.
“Just being able to get on the court and seeing my family sitting there (is what I’m looking forward to the most),” Shine said. “They’ll probably be at all of the home games. I’m looking forward to playing beside Kyra again as well. We didn’t know we were both looking to transfer back home. Once we found out we could be at the same school again, we couldn’t let that opportunity pass us up.”
The Bears open the season with an exhibition against Vanguard on Friday, Nov. 1 at 8:30 p.m. The 2013-14 season officially gets underway against Long Beach State on November 10.
Brandon and Boyd Named To Wade Watch List
Golden Bear duo Brittany Boyd and Gennifer Brandon were named to the Wade Watch List Tuesday by the WBCA, an honor that helps show the progression of California women’s basketball into the discussion of the elite programs in the country. Only five programs in the nation had multiple players on the 25 player list, and the Golden Bears were the lone representative from outside of the Eastern Time Zone with that distinction.
“Genn and Boyd are great players and mean a lot to this program,” Shine said of her teammates. “To see them gets awards and acknowledgements like that means a lot, not only for them but this team. Everyday we’re working hard, so it feels good to see them get awards like that and show that California women’s basketball is respected across the country.”