by By Jennifer Starks Staff writer , Contra Costa Times

"We know we're in," senior forward Ashley Walker said. "But where?"

When the answers came, the Cal and Stanford women's basketball teams were content with the verdicts. The Bears received a No. 4 seed in the Trenton Regional and will face No. 13 Fresno State in the first round in Los Angeles, while the Cardinal is headed to San Diego as a No. 2 seed in the Berkeley Regional to play No. 15 UC Santa Barbara. Both games are Saturday.

Undefeated UConn was awarded the overall No. 1 seed, while Maryland, Oklahoma and Duke also received top seeds.

For Cal (25-6), the NCAA Tournament represents a fresh opportunity to get things right after ending the regular season in a bit of a funk and having its run for the Pac - 10 tournament crown cut short by controversy. According to senior center Devanei Hampton, returning to the Galen Center, site of the Pac - 10 tournament, gives the Bears a chance to take care of "some unfinished business."

First up is Fresno State.

Boyle and her Bears are already vaguely familiar with the Bulldogs (24-8), a team they beat 83-79 last season. Fresno State won the WAC tournament championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and features some familiar faces in Pinole Valley High graduates Jaleesa Ross and Marnique Arnold. A sophomore guard, Ross was named the WAC tournament MVP for a second straight year, the only player in conference history to do so.

Though the Bears know improvement is required, a first-round run-in with the Bulldogs represents the perfect chance to get back on track.

"To end the Pac - 10 the way we did was heartbreaking," junior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson said. "We were all upset. I know I was. Now, we're all hungry. "... Everybody talks about being a dangerous team. I think we're going to be the most dangerous. People have doubt and stuff to say. We will be scary."

For its part, Stanford (29-4) is already there. The Cardinal has won 16 straight games and is fresh off a dominating performance in the Pac - 10 tournament, outscoring the opposition by an average of 27.3 points and winning its third consecutive championship.

In Berkeley, the Cal players couldn't help but erupt with laughter when they learned Stanford's first-round opponent. After all, UC Santa Barbara's (22-9) first-year coach Lindsay Gottlieb spent three seasons as an assistant at Cal before heading south.

"Classic," Boyle said. "Welcome to the Big Dance, Linds."

Boyle said she doesn't intend on giving Gottlieb any insider information on the Cardinal. It's important to respect the conference, she said. Plus, Gottlieb already knows plenty.

Chances are, she got enough of an eyeful last season. That's when Stanford, which is making its 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, made its long-awaited return to the Final Four. The Cardinal disposed of UConn along the way before falling to two-time defending champion Tennessee in the championship game.

Stanford ran through a daunting nonconference schedule, ranked No. 1 in the nation according to realtimerpi.com , and several ESPN analysts picked the squad to get there once again.

"Going to the Final Four was definitely a tremendous boost to our confidence," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "It's a thrilling feeling to go, to do so well. I think we have enough players on our team to remember what that felt like."

Junior center Jayne Appel is one of them. Though she said the Cardinal relished this week's dominating run at the conference tournament, the Carondelet High product assured it is just the beginning.

"We're happy that we won, but we didn't feel satisfied at all," Appel said. "We want to get back to the Final Four and the championship game. That's the only time we'll be celebrating."

Contact Jennifer Starks at jstarks@bayareanewsgroup.com.NCAA TOURNAMENT TRENTON REGIONAL First round Saturday At Galen Center, L.A.Cal (25-6) vs. Fresno State (24-8), 5 p.m.BERKELEY REGIONAL First round SaturdayAt Cox Arena, San Diego Stanford (29-4) vs. UC Santa Barbara (22-9), approx. 7:30 p.m. Cal men will be facing mirror image in Maryland. Page 4

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