Senior Day Set For Saturday’s Regular Season Finale

Feb 28, 2014

Game #29
No. 18/18 California (21-7, 13-4) vs Washington (16-12, 9-8)
Haas Pavilion • Berkeley
Saturday, Feb.28 • 5:30 p.m. PT
Series Record: Washington leads, 42-20
Last: Cal 70, Washington 65 (Feb. 7, 2014 in Seattle)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Anne-Marie Anderson pxp, Ros Gold-Onwude analyst)

BERKELEY – Saturday is Senior Night as No. 18 California takes on Washington in the regular season finale at Haas Pavilion. The Bears have already locked up the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 after Thursday’s win over Washington State coupled with Arizona State’s loss last night - marking the third consecutive season that the Bears finish in the top two in the Pac-12. The three straight top two finishes are a California program-best.

Tip-off between the Bears (20-7, 12-4 Pac-12) and Huskies (16-12, 9-8 Pac-12) is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT and will air live on the Pac-12 Networks with Anne Marie Anderson (play-by-play) and Ros Gold-Onwude (analyst) on the call.

The game is the 100th in Lindsay Gottlieb’s tenure as the California head coach. Gottlieb - who is 3-0 in her career against the Huskies - has a 78-21 record at California, and a victory would set a new program-best of 79 wins over a three-year period. Gottlieb’s 78 current wins (25-10, 32-4, 21-7) heading into the game matches Joanne Boyl’s 78 wins (27-7, 27-7, 24-13) from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

A CALIFORNIA WIN OVER WASHINGTON WOULD:
* Give the Bears 14 conference wins for just the fourth time in program history
* Mark win No. 79 in Gottlieb’s nearly three-year tenure - surpassing the previous program-best 78 wins over a three-year stretch (by Joanne Boyle from 2007-10)
* Give California a season-best and Pac-12 leading eight-game winning streak
* Improve Lindsay Gottlieb to 4-0 against Washington as the head coach of California.
* Mark Lindsay Gottlieb 79th win in 100 games as the head coach at California (.790)

A LOOK AT WASHINGTON (16-12, 9-8 Pac-12): Washington sits tied for sixth in the Pac-12 standings with Washington State at 9-8 in conference play after dropping their last two games - at home against Oregon State and at No. 4 Stanford Thursday night. The Huskies - who are the only team in the conference to defeat the Cardinal this season - are led by Freshman of the Year candidate Kelsey Plum’s 20.8 points per game along with Jazmine Davis’s 19.1 points. Talia Walton adds 10.7 points and 7.9 rebounds. The team leader in rebounds per game is Aminah Williams who pulls down 10.3 boards each contest.

CALIFORNIA-WASHINGTON SERIES HISTORY: Washington leads the all-time series 42-20, but the Bears have won 12 of the last 16 meetings. Lindsay Gottlieb is 3-0 against the Huskies with an average margin of victory of 19 points (71-47 in 2011-12, 78-50 in 2012-13, 70-65 in 2013-14).

LAST MEETING (California 70, Washington 65): Two double-doubles and a near-triple-double led California to a 70-65 win at Washington to end a two-game skid. Brittany Boyd scored 14 points to go with 9 assists and 9 rebounds while Reshanda Gray (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Gennifer Brandon (10 points, 12 rebounds) both put up double-doubles in a game that featured 12 lead changes and nine tied scores. California shot 9-of-16 (.563) from beyond the arc while the Huskies went 11-of-20 (.550) from downtown.

GOTTLIEB VS THE PAC-12: California head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has solidified her mark as one of the sport’s brightest young coaches since taking over the California women’s basketball program prior to the 2011-12 season. Gottlieb is 36-1 against Pac-12 schools not from the state of California and is 10-11 against California-based Pac-12 schools in regular season and postseason action.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE BOYD: Brittany Boyd earned her elusive triple-double Thursday night against Washington State after putting up a stat line of 13 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists - becoming the second player to record a triple-double in program history (Eliza Sokolowska put up 13 points, 15 assists and 10 steals against Arizona State on Feb. 9, 1995). Boyd becomes the 13th player in Pac-12 history to achieve the feat and is the 17th player in the NCAA this season to register a triple-double. The feat comes after twice falling one stat shy of a triple-double this season - the first against USC (Jan. 26) with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists and the second at Washington (Feb. 7) with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

GRAY GOES FOR 40: Junior forward Reshanda Gray had the game of her career against Washington State when she put up a career-high 43 points on a 17-of-20 effort from the field. Gray, who also pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the game, scored 32 points in the first half and came just four points shy of the California single-game record of 47 set by Alexis Gray-Lawson against Oregon State (Jan. 23, 2010). Her 43 points are the most by a player in the Pac-12 this season and are the most scored by a post player in the NCAA this season (alongside Rachel Tecca of Akron who also scored 43 against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 26).

Gray currently has seven consecutive double-doubles - best current active Pac-12 streak.

THE COUNTRY’S ELITE PG: Junior Brittany Boyd has steadily established herself as one of the most elite point guards in the country and is one of the rare floor generals that puts up significant numbers in all three major offensive categories - points, rebounds and assists. Boyd - who averages 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists - is one of just three players in the country averaging at least 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists alongside Samantha Logic of Iowa (14.1ppg, 6.6rpg, 7.6apg) and Erin Rooney of Fordham (18.3ppg, 7.1rpg, 5.3apg).

GIVE IT TO GRAY: Junior forward Reshanda Gray currently is second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at .600 through 27 games and ranks 5th nationally in the category. Gray’s production will be a note to watch throughout the season with the California single-season record currently set at .624 (78-of-125) by Sophie von Saldern in the 1992-93 season.