Dec. 5, 2012

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Game 8
No. 11/11 California at CSU Bakersfield

Icardo Center | Bakersfield, Calif.
Friday, Dec. 7 - 7 p.m. PT
Series Record: Cal leads, 1-0
Last: Cal 86, CSU Bakersfield 56 (Dec. 3, 2011 in Berkeley)

Live Stats | Premium Live Audio (Dave Lewis)

California Game Notes | CSU Bakersfield Notes

BERKELEY - No. 11/11 California continues its road swing with a visit to CSU Bakersfield Friday night at the Icardo Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Bears will look to rebound after suffering their first loss of the season, a 77-63 setback at No. 4 Duke. Despite the loss, Cal held steady at No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll and dropped one spot to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll.

CSU Bakersfield takes on its third Pac-12 opponent this season and second consecutive after dropping a 71-48 decision at Oregon State on Nov. 29. The Roadrunners enter the meeting with a 1-6 record.

Friday's meeting will be the second between the Bears and Roadrunners with California winning an 86-56 game last season in Berkeley. The game marks Cal's first at the Icardo Center, notable as the first school in the nation to install a blue basketball court.

Fans can listen to Dave Lewis's live call of the game on CalBears.com's premium All-Access player for a monthly fee.

A CALIFORNIA WIN AT CSU BAKERSFIELD WOULD:
* Move the Bears to 3-0 against schools from the state of California this season
* Move Lindsay Gottlieb to 16-5 in ALL non-conference games at California
* Move Lindsay Gottlieb to 7-4 in AWAY non-conference games at California

GAME RECAP: Sophomore Brittany Boyd scored a career-high 28 points - 23 coming in the second half - and collected seven steals, but No. 11 California could not overcome a cold first half in a 77-63 loss at No. 4 Duke. The loss ended the six-game winning streak to begin the season for the Bears, the second-longest season-opening streak in program history. A cold first-half by California allowed the Blue Devils to take a 34-20 advantage at the break. Cal shot 7-of-32 (21.9%) from the field in the first half before rebounding in the second half to shoot 50% (16-of-32).

IN THE RANKINGS: California held steady at No. 11 the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll for the third consecutive week but dropped one spot to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll. The Bears are nearing the highest rankings since the 2008-09 team climbed as high as No. 4 in the country, a program-best mark. That team, led by Alexis Gray-Lawson, went on to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 with a 27-8 final record. Four teams on this year's schedule - Stanford (1/1), Duke (4/4), UCLA (17/19), and Kansas (18/17) - are ranked this week in addition to Georgetown and Utah receiving votes in the polls.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Bears will take 10 days off before traveling to Northwestern for the final non-conference road game of the season. The Wildcats are currently 6-1 after suffering their first loss of the season to DePaul last Sunday.

BALANCED ATTACK: One thing Coach Gottlieb is preaching this season is the balanced options that her team possesses on the offensive end of the court, and the numbers back up that assertion. Five Bears average double figures scoring with a sixth averaging 8.1, and a different Bear has led the team in scoring in six of seven games* (Gennifer Brandon and Talia Caldwell both scored 15 points vs EWU, making Brandon and Layshia Clarendon the lone Bears with the top output in two games).

CAL ON THE BOARDS: Senior Talia Caldwell and junior Gennifer Brandon combine to make the Cal post players possibly the most dominant on the boards in the Pac-12. Caldwell is the active Pac-12 leader with 794 rebounds, and Brandon is not far behind at No. 4 on the active list with 723 boards. No other duo in the league combines for over 1,200 rebounds, let alone the 1,517 by these two.

CALDWELL HITS 10: Senior Talia Caldwell moved past Ingrid Dixon for No. 10 in the California all-time record book with 793 career rebounds after her 10-rebound effort against Old Dominion Friday night.

BOYD'S SECOND HALF IN CAMERON: Sophomore Brittany Boyd had an outstanding second half for the Bears at Duke. After the Bears struggled in the first half collectively, Boyd put the team on her shoulders in the final 20 minutes with an output of 23 points, two assists, and five steals - not to mention a .750 shooting percentage (9-of-12) and perfect numbers from beyond the arc (2-of-2) and the charity stripe (3-of-3). Overall, Boyd put up a career high 28 points in the game along with seven steals.