BERKELEY – Coming full circle in a still young career, California head coach Lindsay Gottlieb collected her 200th career win on Thursday night as the Golden Bears (6-2, 0-0 Pac-12) downed San Diego (5-4, 0-0 WCC) 89-64 at Haas Pavilion. Gottlieb, now in her seventh season at Cal, picked up her first-ever win as Division I head coach on November 16, 2008, playing against the Toreros while at the helm of UC Santa Barbara.
 
"The number of wins is fun, but mostly it's the ride," said Gottlieb of the milestone. "It's about the people you do it with."  
 
A balanced and highly efficient offensive effort was the story of the night for the Bears, who shot a season-high 69.1 percent. This marked just the fifth time in the last five seasons that the Bears connected on at least sixty percent of their shots.

Spearheading that effort was two-time Honorable Mention All-American Kristine Anigwe, who registered a game-high 26 points, 16 of which came in the first half. The center/forward from Phoenix went 11-14 on the night, including a streak of eight consecutive made field goals from midway through the first quarter through late in the third. The Wade Trophy candidate emphasized her focused in improving her efficiency this offseason and has lived up to the billing as of late, shooting 77 percent (30-39) from the field over her last three games and scoring a total of 68 points in her last 74 minutes of action.

Junior guard Asha Thomas and senior forward Penina Davidson added 13 points each for Cal, while freshman guard Kianna Smith recorded her fifth game with at least five assists this season, finishing with seven assists and eight points on the night.
 
"We have a really good group and we're a more balanced team," Gottlieb said. "Whatever teams throw at us, we have enough. In the past, we hoped we would finish, now I expect us to finish those shots. They make it look easy."
 
A well-paced start got the Bears in rhythm early, with Anigwe quietly tallying 10 points in the first quarter to give the Bears a comfortable 25-16 lead at the first intermission.  
 
The Toreros came within six points in the opening minutes of the second quarter with three quick buckets, but were unable to get any closer as the Bears answered quickly. Despite a bit of foul trouble midway through the second quarter, Anigwe chipped in six of her 16 first-half points to give Cal a comfortable 10-point lead headed into intermission.

Tallying her third 20-point performance of the season, Anigwe led an impressive effort on the interior by the Bears, who outscored the Toreros 54-18 in the paint. Cal's post trio of Anigwe, Davidson, and sophomore CJ West went a combined 20-25 from the floor on the night as the Bears also held a 29-24 advantage on the boards.
 
San Diego, who has now lost three consecutive games, finished with three players scoring in double figures led by forward Sydney Williams's 18-point effort. Guard Aubrey El-Ward recorded 14 points and forward Maya Hood added 12 of her own.
 
The Bears were able to limit play around the basket recording a season-high eight blocks, including two apiece from Anigwe, Jaelyn Brown, and San Diego-native Alaysia Styles.
 
"Our team defense has been good lately," said Gottlieb. "This is the type of system we wanted to run and tonight it made our opponents have to take tougher shots. And, if you get past the first line of defense, we have some big, athletic people inside that are tough to score over."
 
Next up, the Bears head to Stockton, Calif., to take on the Pacific Tigers (4-4, 0-0 WCC) on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. Sunday's matchup will mark the third meeting between the programs in the last five seasons with the most recent outing resulting in an 84-64 Cal victory on Nov. 16, 2014 also in Stockton.
 
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