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		Cal's women hoopsters are learning the hard way By Morris Phillips January 30, 2010

	From Coach Joanne Boyle’s perspective, it doesn’t really matter where her young Bears stand. For a team this young, time spent contemplating the Pac-10 standings or NCAA prospects could be the distraction that leads to a losing streak that could destroy their season. “People look at the conference and see where you’re at, but we’re so young, you can’t look any farther than the game ahead of us,” Boyle said after a 63-61 loss to Arizona State on Saturday. “We’ve got to let this one go. We’ve got USC the next game and it’s all about them. If we try to think too big, we’ll stumble.” It certainly didn’t matter where the Bears (11-9, 5-4) stood against ASU. Cal never trailed in the second half until the Sun Devils’ Danielle Orsillo sent them home with a loss on a jumper with just two seconds remaining. Orsillo’s jumper left the Bears standing quite clear, whether Boyle notices or not: tied for fourth place in the conference, with wins over everyone below them and losses to everyone above, or next to them. And according to ESPN bracketology that’s a key distinction, with the top three (Stanford, UCLA and USC) all expected to receive NCAA bids and the other seven left to figure out how they can close the gap next year. Boyle has brought an unprecedented recruiting haul to Berkeley, with seven nationally-rated freshmen on this year’s team, and another pair of top-30 players coming next year in a three-woman recruiting class. Consequently, when watching this group, the superior talent is as obvious as is the inexperience. And the young talent has forced its way on to the court, as four freshman started on Saturday along with holdover Alexis Gray-Lawson. As a result, a young team has gotten younger, and that means late game situations are just like a roll of the dice: you’re not sure what you’re going to get. Against ASU, the Bears managed just three hoops and four made free throws in the final 11 plus minutes of the game, as a 10-point lead slowly evaporated. During a five-game win streak, Gray-Lawson, took and made all the big shots, averaging better than 30 points a game. But on Saturday, the senior leader got two early fouls and never hit warp speed. Gray-Lawson scored the last of her 14 points with 12 minutes remaining, and then missed her final five shots from the floor. With their leader struggling, the youngsters, who have proven to be adept rebounders, ball handlers and defenders, found themselves out of their comfort zone. And just as Boyle said, there are no givens with a young group. Without Gray-Lawson’s almost-guaranteed offense, the freshman faltered, even with things which they’ve been normally adept. “We weren’t guarding them very well, so we were trying to play some zone,” Boyle said. “When we weren’t making baskets from the four minute mark down, it forced us into man because of transition. They were attacking the basket. We either fouled, they got layups, or they got an offensive rebound.” No doubt, these are tough lessons: mentally-tough, never-say-die opponents, evaporating leads and disappearing offense. And don't forget the large shadow cast by rival-Stanford. But Boyle’s Bears are growing, with the probability the experience will soon catch up to the talent, bringing the winning the Duke-nurtured coach craves after that. As sure as Gennifer Brandon jumps out the gym, and Eliza Pierre and Layshia Clarendon are blurs with the ball in their hands, you probably can count on it. You just can't count on it just yet.