Cal Takes First Women's Basketball National Title in School History with 73-61 WNIT Win Over Miami

On Final Four weekend, only one championship really resonates. But for Cal, the WNIT crown says everything about where its program stands, and where its headed.

I thought they took the bull by the horns in postseason and said, You know, were going to make the most of it, California Coach Joanne Boyle said of her young team, which shook off the disappointment of missing the NCAA tournament with six straight wins in the WNIT.

Cal saved its best for last, shooting a season-best 56 percent from the field in a 73-61 win over Miami, giving them their first national championship in womens basketball. Alexis Gray-Lawson capped off her brilliant college career with 17 points, including several pivotal baskets in the second half. Gray-Lawson exited with 20 seconds left to a standing ovation from an impressive home crowd that made the early 11 a.m. PDT tip-off and was loud and supportive of the Bears from the opening tip.

One year after posting the best record in the programs history at 27-7, Boyles freshman-dominated team struggled through early January, before finding its stride and finishing with wins in 18 of its final 23 games. Of the five losses down the stretch, two were to Pac-10 champion Stanford which is playing Oklahoma Sunday night in that "other" Final Four.

Nothing better displayed the growth of the young Cal team better than its hot shooting in the second half that allowed them to hold off Miami, who attempted to shot themselves back in it after halftime. The Bears made 16 of their 24 shots from the field and got offense from a number of different sources. The confidence Cal showed on offense was in direct contrast with their last four losses--all to other Pac-10 post-season qualifiersin which they shot a combined 29 percent, including a clunker of a half against UCLA on February 6, in which they made just two of 23 shots.

Repeatedly, Cal was patient with their offense, and comfortable putting up shots with the shot clock running down. Gray Lawson pumped faked and scored on a deep jumper from the corner, and drew a foul on Miamis Riquna Williams with the shot clock evaporating. That basket and the ensuing made free throw put Cal up, 48-35, with 13:08 remaining.

The points they scored with less than 10 seconds in the shot clockthats the most Ive ever recalled in a game in the history of my coaching career that a team ran it down and were scrambling, pressing and running, and they had the composure to run it down and score, Miami Coach Katie Meier said.

Big time players make big plays at the end of games, and the end of shot clocks. Thats Lex, and nothing we diagram. Believe me, Boyle added.

Photo Caption: Gray-Lawson's experience and leadership on this young team were nearly as valuable as the 17 points she posted.
	Photo Credit: Full Court Press/Lee Michaelson

Freshman standout DeNesha Stallworth, still only 17 years old, led the Bears with 21 points, and also showed a knack for knocking down big shots under the pressure of the shot clock. Stallworth dominated the post, notching 21 of Cal's 48 points in the paint. The entire Miami team posted just 26 points in the paint. Meier felt her undersized Hurricanes were in position to contest Stallworths shots, but she was often too quick, shooting before the defense could react.

	Photo Caption: The hero of the game for the Bears was 17-year old freshman, DeNesha Stallworth, who notched a team-high 21 points, all of them in the paint.
Photo Credit: Full Court Press/Lee Michaelson

Fellow freshmen Eliza Pierre and Gennifer Brandon also had big games as Cal got 21 of its 29 made baskets from the five freshmen who played. Brandon also grabbed 12 rebounds as the Bears out-boarded Miami 39-31.

	Cal also got contributions from others in its freshman crew. Eliza Pierre posted eight points and dished out six assists while hauling down five boards.
Photo Credit: Full Court Press/Lee Michaelson

Photo Caption: Gennifer Brandon, also a freshman, posted a near-double-double, with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. She topped that off with two assists and a block.
Photo Credit: Full Court Press/Lee Michaelson

In Cals run to the WNIT championship, they won their final five games all by double-digits and grabbed an incredible 93 more rebounds than their opponents in the six-game run, as their size and physical ability mattered far more than their lack of experience.

The Hurricanes, who finished tied for 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 4-10, had proved unstoppable until Sunday in the WNIT. The smaller 'Canes came in averaging 75 points a game in their WNIT run, but Cals length bothered the Miami shooters, who did not net their first basket until nearly six minutes into the opening half, while Cal headed out on a 9-0 run.

Miami responded with a 16-2 run of its own, fueled by seven points each from sophomores Shenise Johnson and Riquna Williams, and led by five points with just under nine minutes left in the period. But Cal rallied with another run, 24-7, to finish the half with 35 points, while Miami managed only 23 points in the first half. Miami shots just 26.5 percent from the field and were a dread 0-7 from beyond the arc in the opening period, while Cal shot a respectable 46.4 percent from the floor and didn't fare much better than Miami from beyond the arc, landing just one of their five attempts from long distance.

It's hard to say what was in the Gatorade in the locker room, but Miami improved its shooting to 51.7 percent (15-29) in the second period, and nailed four of eight of its long-range attempts in the second half. The 'Canes concluded their most successful season ever with a spirited rally, coming within nine points, down 66-57, with 3:38 remaining. But Cal, whose shooting improved to 66.7 percent (16-24) in the second period, held on as Stallworth and senior Natasha Vital hit big baskets down the stretch.

Johnson led the Hurricanes with 21 points, while Williams was hot on her heels with 20. The game stretched Johnson's double-figure scoring streak to 37 games. Williams's two three-balls in the WNIT title game left her at 106 for the season -- extending her Miami school record and falling just one shy of the ACC single-season three-point record held by North Carolina's Ivory Latta.

	Photo Caption: Shenise Johnson, who also came up big in Miami's WNIT national semifinal win over Michigan, extended her double-digit scoring streak to 37 games, leading the Hurricanes with 21 points, to which she added seven boards, five assists and two steals. The sophomore looks to have a great future ahead of her.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Miami Athletics Media Relations/JC Ridley

Photo Caption: Miami's Riquna Williams contributed 20 points, including two long-balls. Though only a sophomore, Williams holds Miami's school record for three-pointers in a season, with 106, and fell just one short of breaking the ACC record in that category.
	Photo Credit: Courtesy Miami Athletics Media Relations/JC Ridley

Senior Diane Barnes grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, to go with eight points, for Miami.

Miami returns Johnson and Williams, both sophomores, along with freshman Stefanie Yderstrom, in hopes of moving into the upper division in the ultra competive ACC. The trio of young Miami players combined to score 47 of the 'Canes' 61 points on Saturday.

Now Cal welcomes its second consecutive top-ten recruiting class in hopes of challenging Stanford for supremacy in the Pac-10 next year, and will be trying to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the field of 64 for the first time in five years. Not bad for a school that had little significant womens basketball history just six years ago when Boyle arrived.