“Thank you all for being here, I’m really proud of our team,” Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the game. “I’m proud of how they handled this week of preparation. I’m proud of how they handled the media and craziness and questions that come with playing UConn. I’m proud of how we performed on the court. We wanted to win the game. It’s not a moral victory type of thing saying we kept it close. I’m more proud of what I saw and how good our team can be.
“I think we made UConn have to beat us.