Ted Lee of BearInsider.com framed his recap of the California Golden Bears women's basketball team with a look ahead to the difficult schedule ahead as they open Pac-12 conference play in 2013.

Next week, Cal opens with road games at Utah and Colorado, and then get to finish their three-games-in-five-day stretch with a home game at Stanford the following Tuesday. The way the conference schedule is structured this season, the Bears then have to host Stanford five days later.

That's four games - three on the road - against three teams, with a combined record of 30-1, and two against the top-ranked team in the country.

Although it may be tempting to look ahead to their back-to-back meetings with the Stanford Cardinal after seeing them struggle against the UConn Huskeis on Saturday, with the Colorado Buffaloes entering the Pac-12 undefeated and Utah coming in at 9-2 it's hard to look ahead to the big rivalry game that will carry additional national significance with it this season.