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Coach Marianne Stanley is looking for a great season out of her Bears squad.
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Nov. 17, 1997
Bears Open at Home With Cal Poly Slo
Then Travel to UOP
Thu. Nov. 20
CAL POLY SLO, Kaiser Arena, Oakland, CA 7:30 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 24
at UOP, Spanos Center, Stockton, CA 7:00 p.m.
SEASON OPENER:
The California women's basketball team opens the regular season at home on Thursday, Nov. 20, hosting the Cal Poly SLO Mustangs (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. in Kaiser Arena. The Bears then make their first road trip of the season, traveling to Stockton to face the UOP Tigers (0-1) on Monday, Nov. 24.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:
Cal Poly SLO is 1-0 on the season after defeating Weber State, 76-58, in their home and season opener Nov. 15. Last season, the Mustangs finished 4-22 overall, and return 10 letterwinners from that squad. Pacific is 0-1 this season after dropping its opener on the road to Sacramento State, 63-55. The Tigers will play at Santa Clara on Nov. 22 before returning home to host Cal in their home opener. Last season, UOP finished with a 9-18 record.
SERIES RECORDS:
This will be the first meeting ever between the Bears and the Mustangs. Cal leads the series with UOP, 20-1, with UOP's lone victory coming in 1981.
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Jennie Leander is Cal's top returning scorer and rebounder. (File Photo)
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HOME OPENERS:
The Bears have won 17 consecutive home-openers, dating back to the 1980-81 season. In last season's home opener, Cal defeated Boise State, 71-66.
LAST WEEK:
Cal lost to Tory Kosice from Slovakia, 71-69, in exhibition action on Sunday, Nov. 16 in the Kaiser Arena. Four Cal starters scored in double figures, led by center Jennie Leander's 17-point effort. Senior forward Amber Lacey, in her first season after transferring from Alabama, recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman point guard Masa Radovic tossed in 14 points and dished six assists, while freshman guard Courtney Johnson tallied 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Johnson also added four assists, three steals and five rebounds. After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Bears rallied to take their first lead of the game, 61-60, with just under four minutes left in the game. But Tory Kosice finished the game in strong fashion, outscoring Cal 11-8 down the stretch run to claim their fourth victory on their 10-game tour of the West Coast.
NEW HOME COURT:
The Cal women's basketball team will play its home games for the 1997-98 season in the Kaiser Arena, part of the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in downtown Oakland (10 - 10th Street). The construction of the new $40 million, 12,000-seat Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion has begun on campus, and completion of the project is expected sometime during the 1998-99 season. The Kaiser Arena seats 4,685 for basketball.
HEAD COACH MARIANNE STANLEY (Immaculata '76):
One of the most successful coaches in the history of women's basketball, Marianne Stanley is 6-21after her first season at Cal. Her overall record in 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach is 386-170 (.694), including stops at Stanford (1996), USC (1990-93), Penn (1988-89) and Old Dominion (1978-87). Stanley won three national titles at Old Dominion (1979, 1980, 1985), took USC to three NCAA Tournaments, and was named National Co-Coach of the Year last season at Stanford, helping lead the Cardinal to the Final Four. As a two-time All-America point guard, she led Immaculata College to a pair of national titles (1973-74). In her 22 seasons as a player and coach, she has made 17 postseason appearances, and competed in 10 Final Fours. Stanley's staff at Cal includes associate head coach Barbara Thaxton and assistant coaches Carol Alfano and Milica Vukadinovic.
CALIFORNIA PROBABLE STARTERS PTS REB NOTES
Amber Lacey F 6-0 Sr 12.0 11.0 Transfer from Alabama
Paige Bowie F 5-11 So 5.0 3.0 1997 Pac-10 All-Freshman hon. mention
Jennie Leander C 6-3 Jr 17.0 5.0 Top returning scorer/rebounder
Masa Radovic G 6-1 Fr 14.0 2.0 Yugoslavian Jr. National Team member
Courtney Johnson G 5-8 Fr 12.0 5.0 Third team Parade All-American
1997-98 CALIFORNIA ROSTER
No Name Pos Ht Yr Exp Hometown (Previous School)
3 Masa Radovic G/F 6-1 Fr HS Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Fourth Gymnasium)
4 Kenya Corley G 5-8 Fr HS Lancaster (Quartz Hill HS)
10 Courtney Johnson G 5-8 Fr HS Antioch (Antioch HS)
14 Bermie Dyer G 5-7 Jr JC San Jose (Independence HS/San Jose CC)
21 Geneva McDaniel C 6-5 So 1V San Francisco (University HS)
22 Marie Folsom G 5-8 Sr 3V Chandler, AZ (Corona del Sol HS)
23 Sherrise Smith G 5-5 Jr 2V Los Angeles (Crossroads HS)
24 Jamilla Churchill F 6-1 Jr 2V Oakland (Bishop O'Dowd HS)
30 Lindsay Toscano G/F 5-9 Fr HS Sonoma (Justin Siena HS)
31 Lauren Ashbaugh F/C 6-2 Fr HS Redmond, WA (Redmond HS)
33 Paige Bowie G/F 5-11 So 1V Fresno (Clovis West HS)
34 Tamara Inoue G 5-6 Fr HS Laguna Hills (Laguna Hills HS)
40 Kobie Kennon F 6-0 Jr 2V East Palo Alto (Sacred Heart Prep)
42 Amber Lacey F 6-0 Sr TR Altadena (Berkeley HS/Univ. of Alabama)
50 Jennie Leander C 6-3 Jr 2V Tigard, OR (Tualatin HS)
Head Coach: Marianne Stanley (2nd year at Cal, 19th year overall)
Associate Head Coach: Barbara Thaxton
Assistant Coaches: Carol Alfano, Milica Vukadinovic
PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL
1. Stanford
2. Arizona
3. UCLA
4. Oregon
5. Washington
6. USC
7. Oregon State
8. California
9. Arizona State
10. Washington State
CAL ON THE RADIO:
For the 16th consecutive season, KALX (90.7 FM) will broadcast all California games, home and away. Each broadcast begins five minutes prior to tip-off.
CAL ON THE INTERNET:
All Cal releases, results, statistics, box scores, schedules and coach and players information, as well as historical data, can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.calbears.com. Stats and results are updated after each game.
CAL RELEASES ON FAXBACK:
All Cal basketball releases are available to the media on the Pac-10's FaxBack service. Using this system, you can obtain releases, statistics, rosters and the latest box scores for all conference teams at your convenience. For more information, contact the Pac-10 office at 510-932-4411.
BEARS ON TV:
Cal will make seven television appearances this season: Nov. 28 at Hawaii (Hawaii TV), Jan. 4 vs. Oregon State (Fox Sports), Jan. 9 vs. Stanford (Fox Bay Area), Feb. 6 at Stanford (Fox Bay Area), Feb. 12 vs. USC (Fox Bay Area), Feb. 21 at Washington (Fox Sports), Feb. 28 vs. Arizona State (Fox Bay Area).
BRUNCH WITH THE BEARS:
The California women's basketball team will host "Brunch With The Bears" on Sunday, Nov. 23 from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the Kaiser Arena. Head Coach Marianne Stanley and the entire Cal basketball team will be on hand to meet the fans, sign autographs and play a short scrimmage. The free event is open to all fans, and will feature free team posters, free food and beverages, free t-shirts and more . For further information, call the Cal Marketing Office at 510-642-2444.
