PROVO, Utah -Â The Cal women's basketball team wrapped up its road trip in victorious fashion, beating BYU, 70-52, on Tuesday afternoon at the Marriott Center to remain perfect on the season. The Golden Bears (3-0, 0-0 Pac-12) erased a one-point half-time deficit to hand the Cougars (1-1, 0-0 WCC) their first loss of the year, outscoring the hosts, 46-27, over the final two quarters of play.
Three different players scored in double-figures for the Bears, led by a season-high 17 points from senior
Asha Thomas. Playing in her 100th career game at Cal, Thomas hit the 1,000-point milestone with 46 seconds left in the game, draining a pair of free throws to become the 30th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. She added two more free throws in the final seconds to ice the game for the Bears, who outscored the Cougars 21-4 over the final 7:16 of the game.
"Being on the road is always tough," said Thomas. "You have to be really disciplined to what your game plan is and be willing to grind it out. Getting milestones like this – 100 games, 1,000 points – means a lot, but I couldn't get it done without my teammates, and all that really mattered today was coming back home with the win. That's always the goal."
Kristine Anigwe added 16 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double in as many games, continuing her torrid start to the season. Sophomore
Kianna Smith added 16 points of her own for the Bears, matching her career best with four made three-pointers. Smith, who scored just nine points in the first two games of the season combined, had a well-rounded afternoon, going 4-7 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the foul line while also adding six rebounds and five assists.
After knocking off Penn State on Sunday afternoon in State College, the Bears traveled nearly 2,000 miles to Provo for Tuesday's game against the Cougars. Both teams got off to a slow start, combining for just 24 total points in the opening quarter. The Bears began to find their touch in the second, going 4-7 from three-point range and 5-10 from the floor, but found themselves trailing 25-24 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Much like Sunday's win over Penn State, Cal elevated its performance in the second half. The Bears opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run and shot 66.7% from the floor during the period, connecting on eight of their 12 field goal attempts. However, BYUÂ remained in striking distance until early in the fourth quarter, where the Bears pulled away for good. Cal closed the game on a 21-4 run and saw eight different players get on the score sheet. Sophomore forward
Alaysia Styles added a season-high eight points on 4-7 shooting while redshirt junior
Chen Yue tallied her first points of the year, sinking a pair of critical free throws with 5:59 left in the game to extend Cal's lead to six.
Cal now returns to Berkeley for a November 18 matchup against Pacific, hosting the Tigers at 2 p.m. PT. Cal opened the season with an 80-79 over Houston at home and is 13-3 at Haas Pavilion since the start of last season. The Bears and Tigers squared off last season in Stockton, with the Bears coming away with the 92-85 victory. Anigwe led the Bears with 28 points and 18 rebounds while Cowling,
Penina Davidson, and Smith also scored in double-figures for the Bears.
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