March 4, 2013

BERKELEY - California head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has been named the 2012-13 Pac-12 Media Coach of the Year after leading the Golden Bears to the first regular season title in program history, the conference office announced Monday.

Gottlieb was joined on the Pac-12 Media Awards list by All-Pac-12 selections Brittany Boyd, Gennifer Brandon and Layshia Clarendon along with All-Defensive Team selections Boyd and Eliza Pierre.

The second-year head coach led the Golden Bears to a 27-2 record and 17-1 finish in conference play - both program bests in 39 years of California women's basketball. The Bears ended the season on a 15-game winning streak and are in position for either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed at the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Earning praise for her ability to gameplan and make in-game adjustments, Gottlieb became just the fifth coach to win a Pac-12 title in her first two seasons as a head coach in the conference. She is the only active coach in the Pac-12 to lead her team to a road victory at Stanford's Maples Pavilion, a feat she accomplished with a 67-55 victory on January 13 that ended the Cardinal's 81-game conference winning streak.

Boyd, Brandon and Clarendon were each selected as All-Pac-12 selections, the second consecutive year that Brandon and Clarendon were selected for the honor.

Boyd averaged 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game for the Bears en route to All-Pac-12 and All-Defensive Team honors. A Freshman Team selection last year, Boyd earned four double-doubles this season by using three different combinations of stats - once by points and steals, once by points and assists and twice by points and rebounds. She led the Bears with 77 steals, a mark that ranks second in the Pac-12. Boyd grabbed 10 steals in a win at UCLA that matches her own school record for thefts in a single game. She holds the top two single-game steals marks of the season in the Pac-12 and recorded at least one steal in 26 of 28 games this season.

Brandon has had an All-American season and averages 12.4 points and 11.0 rebounds for the Bears. The Wade Watch Trophy and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award candidate has solidified herself not only as one of the top post players but as one of the top players overall in the country with her dominating efforts throughout the season that includes a 23-point, 26-rebound effort against USC - a mark that ranks second in the NCAA this season for rebounds in a single game and broke a 19-year old Pac-12 record for rebounds in a conference game. Despite a season average of just 28 minutes played per game - and as a player who has seen action for 35-plus minutes only five times this year for Cal - Brandon ranks No. 18 in the NCAA with her 11.0 rebounds per game and is one of just 16 players in the country to average at least 12 points and 11 rebounds a game. No. 3 in the Pac-12 active rebounding list with 927 career boards and is No. 12 on the NCAA's active list with a 9.8 career rebounding average despite a career average of just 24.7 minutes per game. She has pulled down 15 double-doubles this season.

Clarendon, a Wade Watch Trophy candidate, Naismith Award candidate and a Senior CLASS Award finalist, leads California with 15.9 points per game - a mark she has increased to 17.6 in conference play - and is one of just two guards in the conference shooting .460 from the field or higher. Just the seventh Golden Bear to hit the 1,600-point mark in a career, Clarendon has led the Bears in scoring in 13 of their 18 Pac-12 games. Well respected both on and off the court, Clarendon has also been selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection this year.

Pierre earns her second Media All-Defensive Team selection in the last three years. The senior guard was tasked with shutting down the opposing team's top ballhandler and creating turnovers on the perimeter. She currently ranks fifth all-time at California with 234 career steals.

California begins Pac-12 Tournament play this weekend at KeyArena in Seattle. The Bears will take on either USC or Oregon State in Friday's quarterfinal at 12 p.m.

Pac-12 Media Awards
Player of the Year: Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Freshman of the Year: Jillian Alleyne, Oregon
Defensive Player of the Year: Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Coach of the Year: Lindsay Gottleib, California

All-Pac-12
Brittany Boyd, California
Gennifer Brandon, California
Alyssia Brewer, UCLA
Michelle Plouffe, Utah
Layshia Clarendon, California
Jazmine Davis, Washington
Lia Galdeira, Washington State
Cassie Harberts, USC
Chucky Jeffery, Colorado
Kristi Kingma, Washington
Atonye Nyingifa, UCLA
Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Joslyn Tinkle, Stanford
Markel Walker, UCLA
Davellyn Whyte, Arizona

All-Freshman Team
Jillian Alleyne, Oregon
Lia Galdeira, Washington State
Arielle Roberson, Colorado
Talia Walton, Washington
Jamie Weisner, Oregon State

All-Defensive Team
Brittany Boyd, California
Lia Galdeira, Washington State
Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford
Eliza Pierre, California
Joslyn Tinkle, Stanford
Markel Walker, UCLA