TUCSON, Arizona – Trailing by 10 points midway through the third quarter, the Cal women's basketball battled back with an impressive second-half surge to down Arizona, 53-51, on Sunday afternoon at the McKale Center. Senior guard Mikayla Cowling led the Bears with 19 points, connecting on a career-best five three-pointers as the Bears (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) completed their largest come-from-behind victory of the season. With the win, Cal snapped its two-game losing streak and earned its fourth consecutive win over the Wildcats (4-11, 0-4 Pac-12).

Freshman point guard Kianna Smith dished out a game-high 10 assists to go with eight points and just three turnovers in 40 minutes of action. Sam Thomas  and JaLea Bennett had 13 points apiece to pace Arizona, who  suffered its fifth consecutive loss on the year.

With Asha Thomas, the team's top three-point threat and second-leading scorer sidelined under concussion protocol, Cal's offense was efficient in the opening minutes of Sunday's contest, jumping out to a 10-2 lead. Smith, who was held to just five points on 2-8 shooting in Friday's loss at Arizona State, connected on her first two field goal attempts of the afternoon and scored six of her eight points in the first half. The Bears' bigs  showed off their range, as Kristine Anigwe and Penina Davidson knocked down back-to-back threes to give the Bears and early eight-point advantage.

Yet despite shooting 50 percent (3-6) from three-point range in the first half, the Bears connected on just 22 percent (5-23) of two-point field goal attempts through the first two quarters. The Wildcats capitalized on the Bears' offensive woes, outscoring Cal 17-8 in the second quarter to take a 26-21 lead at the half.

Looking to beat the Bears for just the third time in the last 24 meetings between the teams, Arizona extended its lead to 33-23 with less than 15 minutes remaining in the game before the Bears went on a tear. Bookended by three-pointers from Cowling, the Bears regained the lead behind a 12-0 run, reclaiming the lead for the first time since midway through the second quarter. Cowling, who had just seven points in Friday's loss to the Sun Devils and was 0-4 from beyond the arc over the last three games, scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, going 5-8 from beyond the arc in the second half, with three treys in the third quarter alone. Junior reserve Mo Mosley was also critical in Cal's comeback, recording a career-high three steals in 24 minutes off the bench.

After  outscoring the Wildcats 17-11 in the third quarter,  Cal extended its lead to 53-45 with 4:09 left to play as Cowling connected on her fifth three-pointer of the night, besting her previous high of four made threes. Arizona surged in the final minutes, closing the game on a 6-0 run, but was unable to connect on a three-poiint attempt in the dying seconds.

The Bears held a 36-35 advantage over Arizona on the glass, led by nine rebounds  from  Davidson and seven rebounds from Anigwe. Cal also shot 44 percent (8-18) from beyond the arc on the afternoon, compared to just 18.2 percent (4-22) for the host Wildcats.

Cal will now  return to Berkeley for a pair of home contests against Washington and Washington State. The Bears take on Washington at 8 PT on Friday, January 12, before squaring off  against Washington State at 1 PT on Sunday, January 14, both games part of the Bears' Alumnae Weekend. Both games with be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.

For more information and updates on the team throughout the season, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).