[1] In just her second season at the University of California, Berkeley, Gottlieb led the 2012–13 Golden Bears to their first Final Four in school history, their first Pac-12 Conference championship, and the most wins ever by a Cal women's basketball team (32–4).

[2] That year, Gottlieb led the Bears to the second round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Spending her senior year at Scarsdale High School on the bench with a torn ACL led her to view the game from a different perspective, and to consider coaching.

Gottlieb explained, "I knew that it was the perfect thing for me because it combined kind of my nerdiness and love of the X's and O's with the ability to impact 18- to 22-year-olds in a really significant way.

"[9] When Gottlieb returned to Brown for her senior year in 1998–99, she was both a player and a student assistant, working with the coaching staff.

[2][9] Because of her experience as a player-coach at Brown, Gottlieb was hired as an assistant by Syracuse University head coach Marianna Freeman, the day after she graduated from college.

The following year, the 24-year-old Gottlieb was asked by the head coach of the University of Richmond, Joanne Boyle, to be her top assistant.

[2] In 2005, Boyle was hired as the head coach of the University of California, and she brought Gottlieb with her to Berkeley as her top assistant.

But she was primarily responsible for working with and developing the Bears' outstanding freshman post players, Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton.

The Gauchos received an invitation to the WNIT, where they lost a close game on the road to USC in the opening round, 67–64.

The Bears played a schedule filled with ranked teams, and they suffered tough losses by three points or less to #12 Ohio State, #16 Rutgers, and #24 Texas.

The highlight of the regular season was a 67–55 road victory over arch-rival and perennial women's basketball power #4 ranked Stanford.

[28] They defeated Fresno State 90–76 in the first round,[29] and downed South Florida in overtime to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for only the second time in school history.

Senior leader Layshia Clarendon cut her hair into what became a trademark mohawk,[35] and the team wrote, produced, and starred in their own music video, "Started from the Bottom.

"[36] Coach Gottlieb explained: "My philosophy in general is that college athletics should be an enjoyable experience for the people involved in it.

[38] And Gottlieb has established a Cal Women's Basketball website designed to appeal to young athletes and fans.

[39] She has set an unequivocal goal of making the University of California Women's Basketball team one of the elite programs in the country.

[40][41][42] Gottlieb coached at Cal through 2018–19, a year in which she led the Golden Bears to their seventh NCAA tournament appearance under her tenure.

The team, led on the court by Oakland native Asha Thomas and 2019 WNBA draft first-round selection Kristine Anigwe, was eliminated in the second round by the Baylor Lady Bears, who went on to win the championship.

In eight seasons as the head coach of the Golden Bears, Gottlieb compiled a 179–89 overall record, with her teams going 88–59 in Pac-12 play.