The Coaching Staff CoachCoach B Head Coach Joanne Boyle oanne Boyle, the 2006-07 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, has di- record, marking Cal’s first 20-win season in 15 years and falling only Cal defeated Oregon, 65-56, Jan. 20, 2007, in Berkeley to give Boyle Jrected the California women’s basketball team to national promi- one win from matching the 1983-84 team for the most wins in school her 100th-career victory. nence during her first two seasons at the helm. history. Eighth-seed Cal fell to ninth-seeded Notre Dame, 62-59, in Cal established school records for field goal percentage defense Boyle enters the 2007-08 season with a two-year record of 41-21 in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, signifying only the (37.3%, 2nd Pac-10) and scoring defense (60.1 ppg, 3rd Pac-10) last Berkeley, giving her the best winning percentage (.661) of any of the second time the Bears have earned consecutive NCAA berths. season, breaking the previous records of 37.8 percent and 60.4 per- eight women’s basketball coaches in school history and a five-year In 2006-07, Cal matched the 1991-92 Cal team for the school’s cent set during Boyle’s inaugural year in Berkeley. In 2006-07, Cal career record of 108-50 (.684). She became the third coach in school best Pac-10 record (12-6) and placed alone in third place for the best ranked in the top five in 13 league statistical categories, compared to history to be honored as Pac-10 Coach of the Year and has posted Pac-10 showing in school history. Last year’s team also was nationally 10 in 2005-06. more wins in her first two seasons at Cal than any of her predeces- ranked 17-of-18 weeks, including a then-school-record No. 15 ranking Two years ago, Boyle led a freshman-dominated Cal team to an 18- sors. by the Associated Press for two weeks. On the heels of the 2005-06 12 overall record, a sixth-place showing in the Pac-10 (10-8) and the Boyle’s 2007-08 squad has earned the highest ranking in school squad’s success, Cal was ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP and school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993. history in any major poll, grabbing the No. 8 preseason spot in Athlon USA Today-ESPN coaches’ polls. That year, Cal registered victories over No. 13 Arizona State (66-64) Sports magazine. Boyle’s team gained further notoriety when it upset No. 8 Stanford, and Pac-10 Tournament champion UCLA (65-58) at home and No. 23 After registering the program’s first winning record and postseason 72-57, on the road Feb. 4. The victory snapped the Cardinal’s 17-game USC (72-67) on the road. The 10th-seed Bears fell to seventh-seeded berth in 13 seasons in 2005-06, last year’s team surpassed that stan- winning streak and 50-game home Pac-10 winning streak and marked St. John’s, 78-68, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after dard. The Philadelphia native led the Golden Bears to a 23-9 overall the highest ranked win in Boyle’s five-year history as a head coach. holding a first-half lead. CAL BASKETBALL 07-08 MEDIA GUIDE 45 Under Boyle’s tutelage, Cal players have received 12 conference In addition to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, she led the Spiders to the Eight and to the 2000 and 2001 NCAA Sweet 16. postseason honors, highlighted by center Devanei Hampton being WNIT quarterfinals in 2003 (21-11) and to the WNIT semifinals in 2004 Kodak All-Americans Michele VanGorp (1999), Georgia Schweitzer chosen the 2006-07 Pac-10 Player of the Year and guard Alexis Gray- (23-10). Her 2003-04 team paced the conference in six statistical cat- (2001), Alana Beard (2002 and 2003) and Iciss Tillis (2003) were Lawson securing the 2005-06 Freshman of the Year award. Hampton egories, including scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percent- among the players who benefited from Boyle’s presence at Duke. became the 10th freshman in conference history to be named first- age and assist/TO ratio. At 17.9 assists per game, Richmond ranked Beard was selected the 2003 Kodak Player of the Year. team All-Pac-10 and earned the honor a second time as a sophomore. 10th in the nation. Fueling Duke’s rise on the national scene were four straight top five Forward Ashley Walker joined Hampton on the 2006-07 All-Pac-10 Under Boyle’s guidance, six Richmond players were selected All- recruiting classes from 1999-02. squad. Atlantic 10, with Kate Flavin receiving first- team honors in 2004 and Duke’s success in 2001-02 was particularly rewarding for Boyle, After her first season at Cal, Boyle was named an assistant coach 2005. who faced a unique personal challenge off the court. In late Novem- for the USA team that competed in the 2006 FIBA Americas U20 Boyle was hired by the Spiders in April 2002, inheriting a team that ber, Boyle suffered an ateriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brain, Championship for Women and was elected a member of the WBCA posted a 14-16 overall record the previous year and hadn’t enjoyed which resulted in brain surgery and a lengthy hospital stay. The genet- Board of Directors. With Boyle on staff and Hampton on the 12-player a postseason appearance since 1990-91. As she did at Richmond, ic condition is a capillary deficiency that causes an eruption of blood roster, the USA defeated Brazil, 96-54, to claim the FIBA Americas Boyle brought a winner to Berkeley in her inaugural year at the helm, vessels which produces stroke-like symptoms and bleeding within the title with a 5-0 record. snapping a streak of 12 straight losing seasons. cerebellum. An AVM differs from a blot clot in that an AVM cannot Boyle was hired at Cal April 15, 2005, after serving three seasons Boyle also has a proven track record as a recruiter, inking Blue Star reappear. as head coach at Richmond, where she directed the Spiders to three Index’s 12th-ranked recruiting class in the country for Richmond in Surrounded by her team, friends and family, Boyle fought valiantly consecutive 20-plus win seasons, including a 23-8 record and the pro- 2004-05. She signed Crystal Goring, who was rated the No. 6 best to overcome her illness. Her recovery process was more rapid than gram’s first NCAA berth in 14 years in 2004-05. The Spiders finished player nationally by Blue Star and earned McDonald’s and WBCA All- her doctors had predicted. Her steely resolve, coupled with intense with a 12-4 record in the Atlantic 10 in Boyle’s final year, their best America honors. physical and speech therapy, enabled Boyle to return to her role on mark in the four years since they joined the conference. In January Before accepting her first collegiate head coaching job at Rich- the Blue Devils’ bench within a month. Not long after that, she was on 2005, the program received its first-ever national ranking – No. 25 in mond, Boyle was an integral part of Duke’s rise to national prominence her way to San Antonio, Texas, with the team for Duke’s second Final the ESPN-USA Today-WBCA Coaches’ Poll. as an assistant coach for nine seasons. The season before Boyle’s Four appearance in four years. In 2005, Richmond earned the program’s first at-large bid and third arrival in 1993-94, Duke compiled a 12-15 record and finished last in Prior to coaching at Duke, Boyle played professional basketball overall invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The 11th-seeded Spiders the Atlantic Coast Conference. Two seasons into her stint in Durham, overseas for division one teams in Luxembourg and Germany before lost to sixth-seeded Florida State, 87-54, in the first round. Also in N.C., the team notched 20-plus wins (22-9) for the first time in 10 years returning to the United States after three years. During her European 2004-05, Boyle coached Richmond to victories over Virginia, Liberty and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. stay, she also won two league championships. and Dartmouth – all NCAA Tournament qualifiers – and fielded a team With Boyle on staff, Duke garnered eight straight NCAA Tourna- Boyle, a four-year letterwinner at Duke, graduated in 1985 with a de- that led the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goal percentage (35.1%) and ment berths, highlighted by appearances in the 1999 national cham- gree in economics and obtained a master’s of science degree in health ranked in the top five in the conference in 13 statistical categories. For pionship game and the 2002 semifinals. The Blue Devils reached the policy and administration from North Carolina in 1989. She ended her Boyle’s efforts, the Richmond Times-Dispatch named her the Virginia 20-win plateau seven times, twice amassed at least 30 victories, were playing career ranked second on the Duke scoring charts and second State Coach of the Year. ranked in the top 10 nationally four straight years, grabbed four regu- in assists. Her 75 steals during the 1984-85 campaign remained the Boyle recorded a 67-29 mark (.698) in three seasons at Richmond. lar-season ACC championships and advanced to the 1998 NCAA Elite highest single-season total until Beard broke the mark in 2000-01.