Golden Nuggets: Coach Gottlieb and Layshia Clarendon Reflect on the Senior Class' Tremendous Accomplishments

After her team suffered a bitter loss to Louisville, Lindsay Gottlieb briefly reflected on the loss before turning her attention to the incredible group of students who brought the team to such great heights.

COACH GOTTLIEB: I credit Louisville, who obviously has been really hot and they outplayed us in the second half and did enough of the things that they do well to win the basketball game.
What I said to our team in the locker room is that we can be disappointed about a half a basketball that we wish we had back. We could be disappointed to not be playing on Tuesday night because we really wanted to be playing on Tuesday night.

But I'm going to think about that for two minutes, and for the next 10,000 minutes I'm going to think about what this group did for the University of California, I think forever the legacy they will have left from this year; that when you come to Cal, you play for the person next to you, you play with a lot of character, you work really hard, that you make the name on the front of your chest the most important thing even if you're really, really talented.
And I'm just so grateful that we got to play into the second to last possible day you could be playing a game. And we had a pregame meal today and we got to do walk‑through and all of the stuff just being together, and I'm really sad that we're not doing that on Tuesday night, but that I wouldn't trade this team for anything, even though we're disappointed about a half, and I think our seniors set that tone, and I think the whole team did that this year. And we're going to fight really hard for it‑‑ to keep it that way because of Layshia and Talia and Eliza and Tierra and what whole group did this year.

Like her coach, Layshia Clarendon recognizes the accomplishments of the entire season instead of focusing solely on the loss.

Q. Layshia, could you‑‑ you gathered the team and spoke‑‑ it looked like you were speaking to them at the end of the game when you were huddled together. Can you just share with us your feelings and if you're able to, like your coach, put what this teams has accomplished in perspective, or is it too painful right now?

LAYSHIA CLARENDON: I can do it. I told them: Don't hang your head for one second. Not for one second. Because we've just come to far, done too much. That was my biggest thing.
And like Lindsay said, two minutes, it's hard to let it go. It's going to hit you maybe now, maybe later on the plane, maybe when you get back. It's going to hurt definitely because we knew there was mistakes. It wasn't like we just played someone who's flat‑out better and just literally beat us. We made a lot of mistakes ourselves. So that's where the hurt kind of comes in.

But there's‑‑ just when you look at this team, you think about this team, I just can't help but smile because what we've done is beyond amazing. Like she said, we've affected so many people and just to see all the good that's come out of it, all the positive, all the love, and, like she said, the legacy we're going to leave.
And I think it's another positive note that we weren't just some Cinderella team who made a run this year. Like this is what Cal basketball is going to be, like we set out to make this program known. And I think that's one thing we've done, and we've done it from a point of love, loving each other, from the point of having fun or from the point of dancing.

So when you look back and see that's a legacy you left, yes, it hurts to lose, but like that's pretty awesome. I don't think a lot of people get to do that.

What a spectacular season.

Football

• Keenan Allen dropped to a second-round pick in Mel Kiper's two-round mock draft. He goes 40th overall to Tennessee.
• Allen joins Andrew Luck (nooooooo) and the Colts as the 24th overall pick in Todd McShay's latest mock draft.
• Cal is one of BleacherReport's 10 colleges with the best recruiting visits.

Basketball

• ESPN has an impressively thorough preview of the Final Four. The article predicts Louisville will defeat the Bears.
• Cal's spectacular season came to an end against Louisville on Sunday.
• The Bears did not get many second-chance opportunities during the second half as Louisville had a stronger presence on the glass.
• Lindsay Gottlieb's great rapport with players and excellent grasp of the Xs and Os propelled her to great success as a coach.
• Much to the delight of Pac-12 fans everywhere, Ed Rush has resigned.
• Jason Kidd's hot hand on Sunday helped propel the Knicks to their 12th consecutive win.

Tennis

• The no. 22 men's team defeated Oregon 4-3.
• Cal capped the weekend sweep with a 5-2 win at UW.
• The elentvh-ranked women's team swept the Ducks.

Water Polo

• A strong fourth quarter propelled the no. 5 Bears to a win over no. 10 Michigan State.
• Emily Csikos tied the school record with 212 career goals as Cal defeated no. 11 LMU 12-4.

Track and Field

• Cal's teams combined to win nineteen events at this weekend's tri-meet. The men's team finished first and the women's team finished second.

Baseball

• Cal lost 10-1 in its opening game against defending national champion Arizona.
• The Bears gave up four runs in the first inning and never caught up as Arizona won game two 6-4.
• Missed opportunities in the ninth inning cost the Bears a chance at upsetting Arizona. They lost game three 5-4.

Gymnastics

• The season came to an end for the women's team after a sixth-place finish at the NCAA West Regionals. This was the furthest the team had advanced since 2007.
• The men's team finished third at the MPSF Championships.

Lacrosse

• Cal remains undefeated in conference play following a 14-10 win over Oregon.

Softball

• Cal split its doubleheader with Oregon on Saturday.
• No. 10 Oregon upset Cal 9-3 to win the weekend series.

Crew

• The men's team won its fourth Copley Cup in the last five years.
• Several close races highlighted the San Diego Crew Classic as the women's team finished second.

Golf

• Without Michael Weaver (who is preparing for the Masters), Cal finished one stroke off the lead at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational.