MORAGA, California – The Cal women's basketball team came back from a 15-point second-half deficit to remain unbeaten on the season, topping Saint Mary's 81-78 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at McKeon Pavilion. The Golden Bears (8-0, 0-0 Pac-12) led for just eight seconds in regulation, but clawed back to force overtime as Kristine Anigwe made a  layup with two seconds left in regulation. The Gaels (5-3, 0-0 WCC) led 60-45 with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter, before the Bears steadily chipped away at the deficit and ultimately forced overtime.

Cal carried its momentum into the extra period, jumping out to the lead on a three-pointer by Kianna Smith. Smith scored five of her 12 points in overtime after going scoreless in the second half. Smith was one of five different players to score in double-figures for the Bears.

Anigwe led Cal with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots, finishing with her eighth double-double in as many games this season. Graduate transfer Recee Caldwell, had her highest-scoring game as a Golden Bear, going off for 20 points while also dishing out four assists. Junior CJ West had a career day off the bench, pulling down a career-best 15 rebounds while also scoring 12 points for her first collegiate double-double. Smith added four assists and three rebounds to go with her 12 points while senior guard Asha Thomas  added 11 points and a season-best eight rebounds.

Emily Codding led the Saint Mary's offense with 26 points on 9-12 shooting while forward Sydney Raggio added 13 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.

Squaring off for the fourth consecutive season, Saint Mary's opened the game on a 13-5 run. One of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, the Gaels connected on five of their first ten attempts from three-point range. The Bears recovered from the slow start with a three-of-six performance from three of their own, sparked by back to back triples from Thomas.

Trailing 25-22 at the end of the first quarter, the Bears tied the game at 41 heading into the locker room as Anigwe drove through the lane and finished with just four seconds left on the clock.

However, coming out of the locker room was all Saint Mary's. The Gaels opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run and held the Bears scoreless for the first 3:23 of the second half. But then the Bears' bigs got to work. Anigwe and West scored Cal's first 11 points of the third quarter before Caldwell drained a three-pointer with 40 seconds left on the clock to cut the deficit to single-digits entering the fourth. Cal continued to chip away at the deficit and made it a one possession game with 7:49 to play after Caldwell converted a three-point play. The Gaels' lead grew back to six before back-to-back buckets from Anigwe and West got Cal back within striking range.

With ten seconds left to play, Saint Mary's had a chance to add to its lead at the free throw line, but Taycee Wedin could only connect on one of her two attempts. Coming out of the timeout, Thomas got the ball in her hands and ran a pin-point pick and roll with Anigwe, whose layup tied the game at 73-73 with 2.3 remaining on the game clock. Cal denied Saint Mary's last second attempt and headed to overtime for the first time since Jan. 1, 2017.

Saturday's win marks Cal's largest come-from-behind victory since January 25, 2013, when the Bears erased a 16-point deficit to defeat Colorado, 59-56. Cal went on to reach the Final Four that season.

Cal will be back in action on next Sunday, hosting UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. PT on December 16. Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb began her head coaching career with the Gauchos, leading UCSB to a pair of Big West titles in her three seasons. Former Cal standout Eliza Pierre '13 – a member of Cal's Final Four team – is in her second season as an assistant coach for the Gauchos.

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