BERKELEY – Mikayla Cowling's only field goal Friday night gave the No. 24 Cal women's basketball team the lead for good against Washington.

But it was her career-high 11 assists that helped the Bears win the game.

Cowling's effort led a team-wide commitment to sharing the basketball, as Cal registered 24 assists in a 69-60 victory over the Huskies at Haas Pavilion.

Cowling anchored the Bears' pressbreak against Washington's full-court pressure defense, and it resulted in a seemingly endless stream of layups by Cal's inside players. Junior Kristine Anigwe had 26 points and 10 rebounds while senior Penina Davidson added 18 points and nine boards.

"Mikayla is such an incredible player," Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "You can put her in different spots and trust her to make the play. I put in an offense in the last day or two and changed around some positions and put her in the middle of the floor, and she made the right decisions."

Washington, which entered the night leading the Pac-12 in turnovers forced per game (19.53), began the game in a full-court press and employed it for much of the night. The Bears (12-4, 3-2 Pac-12) were ready, as Cowling and fellow guards Kianna Smith and Asha Thomas helped pick it apart easily. As a result, Cal made 10 of its first 12 shots and built a 24-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Bears went cold in the second quarter and Washington trimmed their lead to 31-29 at the half. It was tied at 48-48 when Cowling hit a baseline jumper with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Davidson began the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups, one on an assist from Smith and another on an assist by sophomore Jaelyn Brown in transition to make it 54-48. The Huskies never got closer to four points again, and Thomas sealed the game with a 3-pointer to make it 66-58 with 1:27 to play.

Thomas, who missed the previous game at Arizona with a concussion, had 14 points and eight assists. Cal committed just 12 turnovers as a team.

"It's always great having (Thomas) on the court," said Anigwe, who had her fifth double-double of the season and 40^th 20-point outing of her career. "She plays really hard and keeps us all together. It's fun playing with her. I'm so glad she's back and healthy."

The Bears will return to the Haas Pavilion court Sunday with a 1 p.m. matinee against Washington State.