WACO, Texas – Cal sophomore Asha Thomas said she was able to hide the fact that she was nervous heading into her first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Saturday night.

She really didn't need to. Her performance on the floor did it for her.

Thomas tied a career-high with six 3-pointers and committed just one turnover while playing all 40 minutes as the ninth-seeded Golden Bears advanced to the second round with a 55-52 victory over No. 8 LSU at the Ferrell Center on the campus of Baylor University.

Thomas' performance from distance tied the Cal record for most made 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game. None was bigger than her last – a dagger from the right corner that broke a 50-50 tie with 1:19 to play.

"Let's just say I was nervous," said Thomas, who scored all 18 of her points on 3-pointers. "You probably couldn't tell because I hide my emotions. But I just embraced the moment."

The Bears (20-13) advance to play top-seeded and host Baylor on Monday at 6 p.m. PT. The game will air on ESPN2.

Sophomore forward Kristine Anigwe added 15 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots, including a pivotal block in the game's final moments. Freshman center CJ West gave Cal a lift off the bench with seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes.

While Cal opened the game committed to the game plan of attempting to get the ball inside against the undersized Tigers, that strategy also gave Thomas space to operate on the perimeter. She nailed three 3-pointers in the first quarter-and-a-half to help the Bears culminate a not-much-more-than-you-can-ask-for start to the game, giving them a 24-14 lead with 5:46 to play in the first half.

"She shot the heck out of the ball in practice yesterday," said Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who moved into sole possession on Cal's all-time wins list with 138 in her career. "So when the first one went down today, I felt really good about that. You can't win in the postseason without good guard play, and today she stepped up and knocked down some shots and also didn't turn the ball over. It was pretty impressive."

LSU was able to come back to tie the game at 39-39 with 1:27 left in the third period and took its only lead of the game at 45-43 early in the fourth.

With the game tied at 50-50, Anigwe found Thomas in the corner, and Thomas didn't hesitate on a quick release 3-pointer that put the Bears in front for good. The Tigers cut it to 53-52 with just under a minute left and then got the ball back with a chance to go in front, but Anigwe blocked a shot by LSU's Alexis Hyder and the resulting loose ball ended up in a tie-up with the possession arrow favoring Cal.

Anigwe was fouled with 6.9 seconds left and made two free throws to make it 55-52, and a final 3-point attempt by the Tigers' Raigyne Moncrief missed.

"I was really nervous," said Anigwe, who was also playing in her first NCAA Tournament game. "I was like shaking before the game. I just tried to do whatever I could to win. I didn't want to go home, and our whole team didn't want to go home. We just played with that mentality."

Saturday's win marked the seventh straight time the Golden Bears have won at least their first-round game in the NCAA Tournament. They will play Baylor in the second round for the second time in three years – Cal lost to Baylor in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

"They're a No. 1 seed for a reason," Gottlieb said. "They're a national championship contender for a reason. But there will not be a team more excited to play Monday night than us. We'll give it our best shot on Monday night. I don't doubt the women in our locker room love a challenge, and that's what it's going to be."