Cal: 66, FS: 45

Time remaining: 2:45

Ashley Walker’s on the bench, she’s got 21 points and eight rebounds.

Alexis Gray-Lawson has got 12 and Lauren Greif has 11.

Rachelle Federico is headed into the game for the Bears for Kelsey Adrian.

Lexi just made a great lay-up on a fast break to extend Cal’s lead. Mooch earned a jump-ball call after battling off three Bulldogs.

This is going to be the last in-game post for me, as we’ve got to prepare for post-game media conferences.

In-game blog notes:
Per NCAA rule, I’m only allowed to blog five times per half, once at halftime, and twice per overtime period. Please hit refresh on your browser window to see if I’ve posted any new updates about the game.

Q&A With Kelsey Adrian

During the open locker room period on Friday at USC, CalBears.com had a chance to sit down with sophomore Kelsey Adrian. This year’s trip to the NCAA Tournament is Adrian’s second after playing at Stanford in last season’s tournament.

CalBears.com: What’s it like to be playing in the Galen Center here on the campus of USC? Kelsey Adrian: It’s great to be here. How many weekends in a row have we been here? This is the second in a row that we’ve been at the Galen Center and our last road trip of the regular season was to Los Angeles. It’s like a home-court advantage for us.

CalBears.com: Last year, the Bears had a great first-round game but dropped the second-round game in heartbreaking fashion, does that memory stay with you during this year’s NCAA Tournament? KA: Of course you always want to do better than you did last year. Especially because we’re a better team than that so we want to move on and do our best.

CalBears.com: Are you approaching Saturday’s game against Fresno State any differently than a regular-season game or one in the Pac-10 Tournament? KA: Not really. It’s a big game because it is the NCAA Tournament. But, if you look at differently then you just get more nerves. It’s a big deal for us, but we still have to focus and prepare the same way.

CalBears.com: Is the NCAA Tournament like the big games when you played in Canada? KA: I guess it’s kind of like the playoffs again. You get pumped up for it, and it’s a big deal. Everyone’s ready for it and we want to play. It’s kind of the same thing.
CalBears.com: What were you thinking after the selection show? KA: I was just excited that we were going to the NCAA Tournament. It didn’t really matter to me where we were going to play, I just wanted to get a high seed.

CalBears.com: Has practice been any different for you this week? KA: Not really. We’re just getting ready and fixing a few things…practicing shots. It’s been normal for the most part.

To read the Q&A on CalBears.com, click here.

The Game Is Simple...With Unity

Here’s a visual of the team shirt for the NCAA Tournament, as described yesterday in this blog entry. Sophomore guard/forward Kelsey Adrian was kind enough to model her shirt for us during the open media session in the locker room on Friday morning.