BERKELEY - With Sunday's exhibition game against Westmont College serving as a dress rehearsal for the season to come, the Cal women's basketball team got its chance to see who and what might be ready to roll right away when the Bears open the 2015 campaign Friday at Austin Peay State.

On the scoreboard, Cal walked away with a 91-39 victory over its NAIA opponent from Santa Barbara, but that served as something of a postscript for an afternoon focused more on trying new combinations than anything else. The Bears jumped out to a 22-8 lead after a quarter, led 46-22 at halftime and ended the game a scorching 35 of 52 (67 percent) from the floor. Four Cal players finished in double figures, led by freshman Kristine Anigwe with 19.

In building the early lead, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb mixed and matched personnel, substituting frequently to get a look at a team with plenty of new blood. Four Bears made their Haas Pavilion debuts, and true freshmen Anigwe and Asha Thomas got the start alongside Mikayla Cowling, Gabby Green and Courtney Range.

That rotation of players looked fluid right off the bat, with every player hitting the scoresheet by the end of the first half. A 10-2 run right out of the gates featured a 3-point play the hard way from Range and a transition bucket by Anigwe that came as a result of an increase in on-ball pressure. A 3-pointer from the corner by Range made it 15-4 and set Cal on its way to a convincing win.

"We have a young group and I was really just focused on their energy level and how hard we played today. I thought we passed that test," Gottlieb said. "I think you saw what we want Cal basketball to be, which is sharing the ball. 20 assists, multiple people scoring, our length on defense. We clearly still have a lot of work to do and that's my job to watch the film but I'm really proud of the start."

That defensive pressure continued to serve the Bears well throughout the game, delighting the home crowd at various points thanks to the opportunities it created for transition offense. A perfect example came in the third quarter when Cowling leapt to swipe a pass, bolted the other way and converted the easy layup. On the very next possession, freshman MaAne Mosley grabbed a steal of her own and started a break that ended with Penina Davidson cashing in from under the hoop to make the score 69-27.

Defense showed through on the final scoresheet, as Cal forced 17 turnovers and turned that into a 22-9 advantage in points off turnovers. The Bears also cleaned the glass to the tune of a 35-17 rebounding edge. Cal fans got a good look at several of the newest Bears, with Mosley and center Chen Yue also seeing substantial playing time off the bench. Cal's quartet of freshmen combined for 49 points in their first game in front of home fans and Thomas had a strong all-around game with 18 points, seven assists and four 3-pointers.

"I was very excited and knowing that I have great teammates, great support, a great coaching staff just really made me more confident today," Anigwe said. "I feel like we all gave our hearts out and played hard. I know we can improve on stuff but I feel like we're in a great position for our upcoming game."

Cal returns to action on Friday when it takes on the Governors at 5 p.m. (PT) in Clarksville, Tenn. From there, the Bears head to Louisville for a matchup with the No. 8-ranked Cardinals on Nov. 15. Tip time for that game has yet to be announced but the game will be shown live online on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Cal returns to Haas Pavilion on Nov. 20 for an 11:30 a.m. game against UC Riverside.