BERKELEY – California head women's basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb announced the signing of Australian standout Sara Anastasieska, who signed a scholarship offer to join the Golden Bears in 2016-17. The rising sophomore guard played her first season at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.

“We are excited to welcome Sara to the Cal family. Having played with Australian national teams, as well as a year in Conference USA, we know she'll bring poise, experience and a tremendous work ethic to our program,” Gottlieb said. “Sara is a guard who can effectively knock down shots and get to the hole. Most importantly, she is a terrific student and a person of high character who fit right in and felt like part of the family immediately. We know she will be an asset to the Cal community and we look forward to having her in blue and gold.”

Anastasieska, a 5-11 product out of Sydney, Australia, is a two-time member of the Australian National teams, serving with both the U19 and U17 squads. She helped Australia qualify to the 2014 U17 World Championships after the team defeated New Zealand in three games at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championships. Anastasieska brings a wealth of national experience to the Bears, earning the Most Valuable Player nod after averaging 15 points and eight rebounds a game with her New South Wales squad at the U20 National Championships in February 2015.

In her rookie season at UTSA, Anastasieska averaged 13.5 minutes per game while appearing in 25 of 29 contests. In the regular-season finale of her freshman campaign, she led all scorers with 14 points (5-9, 3-3 from three-point range) to help the Roadrunners upset No. 25 UTEP in what was only UTSA's second win against a nationally ranked opponent in program history. She set a career-high 19 points against UAB, going 7-9 in the contest. Anastasieska averaged 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds as a frosh while shooting 37 percent from the field, including 31 percent from three-point range, and 66.7 percent at the free throw line.

Anastasieska joins Cal Sparks teammates Jaelyn Brown (Murrieta, Calif.) and Celeste Joi 'CJ' West (Bakersfield, Calif.), who inked national letters of intent in November, in the Bears' incoming class for 2016-17. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Anastasieska must sit out the 2016-17 season.

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More on Anastasieska below:

Sara Anastasieska

Height: 5-11
Position: Guard
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
High School: Monte Sant Angelo Mercy

As a Freshman at UTSA (2015-16):

Conference USA Academic Medal Winner…Named to the CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher…Appeared in 25 of UTSA's 29 contests and averaged 13.5 minutes per game…Chipped in 4.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game…Shot 66.7 percent at the free throw line…Second on the Roadrunners squad with a 31.0 percent (13-42) clip from downtown…Scored in double figures five times…Went 7-9 with a team-best 19 points against UAB…Also led all Roadrunner scorers in the regular-season finale against UTEP, scoring 14 points to help UTSA to its second win against a nationally ranked opponent in school history

High School/Club:

Selected to represent her Australian National teams, including the U19 (2015) and U17 (2014) teams… Helped Australia qualify to the 2014 U17 World Championships after defeating New Zealand in three games at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championships…Toured the U.S. with her Australian National High Schools team, winning MVP awards of both the finals and Pflugerville Tournament after her team won the tourney (Dec. 2014)… Named Most Valuable Player of her New South Wales squad at the U20 National Championships in February 2015 after starting every game and averaging 15 points per game and eight rebounds per game…Claimed a U18 State Championships title with her Northern Suburbs Basketball Association squad (Aug. 2014)…Went undefeated in the Waratah Metro Junior League in 2014 after starting all 18 games, averaging 15 ppg and 9 rpg…Averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds through nine games at the U18 National Championships (April 2014)…Selected to the Australian Development Camp squad by Australian Opals coach Brendan Joyce (Jan. 2014)… Earned the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Sports Association's prestigious Blue award for her achievement in basketball and academics – the lone recipient among all 60 Catholic Colleges in New South Wales (Feb. 2015)…A five-time recipient of the National Intensive Training Program Basketball Australia scholarship

Personal:

Born in Skopje, Macedonia…Parents are Sasho and Jenny Anastasieski…Has a sister, Stefani