BERKELEY – Entering the final stretch of the regular season, the Cal women's basketball team topped Utah, 84-73, on Sunday afternoon, capping off a pivotal home sweep this weekend. The Golden Bears (17-8, 8-6 Pac-12) bounced back from a three-game losing streak to complete their second weekend sweep of the season and moved into a tie for fifth in the conference standings with four games remaining before the Pac-12 tournament. The Utes (15-10, 6-8 Pac-12) suffered back-to-back road losses for the first time this season and saw their four-game winning streak vs Cal in conference play come to an end.

Juniors Asha Thomas and Kristine Anigwe scored 22 points apiece as the Bears went off for 84 points, their most in a conference game in the last four seasons. The tandem of Thomas and Anigwe went a combined 16-22 (72.7 percent) from the floor and a perfect 10-10 from the foul line as the Bears improved to 11-3 at home on the season.

Senior Mikayla Cowling also scored in double-figures for the Bears, adding 12 points and eight assists on the afternoon. Classmate Penina Davidson grabbed a team-high seven rebound and while registering a season-high three blocked shots. Utah's Megan Huff led all scorers with 27 points on 12-21 shooting.

Coming off a thrilling win over Colorado on Friday night, Cal's offense was firing on all cylinders as the Bears erupted for 30 points in the first quarter, their most in any quarter all season. The Bears went 11-14 (78.6 percent) from the floor in the opening stanza, including a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. Cal, who has struggle from three-point range in conference play, finished the game 5-9 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc, their highest three-point field goal percentage this season in conference play.

The Bears offense continued to click in the second quarter and Cal took a 47-32 halftime lead. Sophomore guard Jaelyn Brown continued to be a threat off the bench, scoring all nine of her points in the first half, in which she went 3-3 from the floor. Anigwe scored 16 of her 22 points in the opening half, registering her ninth 20-point performance of the season. A candidate for National Player of the Year, Anigwe went 9-12 from the floor and a perfect 4-4 from the foul line to finish the night with 22 points, six rebounds, and two steals in just 24 minutes of action, after picking up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter.

With Anigwe and fellow center CJ West both battling foul trouble, Utah's sizeable front line was able to chip away at the Bears lead, outscoring Cal 41-37 in the second half. The Utes cut the deficit to six points with 2:19 left in the game, before Cowling hit a key pull-up jumper to make it a three possession game. From there on out, the Bears held the Utes to just one field goal over the final two minutes and the Bears put the game away at the foul line.
 

Thomas, the top free throw shooter in the conference, was perfect once again from the charity stripe, going 6-6 from the foul line to accompany a 7-10 performance from the floor. The 5'4" guard from Oakland added six assists and just two turnovers in 30 minutes of action while going 2-4 from beyond the arc.

Facing one of the top rebounding teams in the conference, Cal out-rebounded Utah, 34-27, and limited the Utes to just nine second-chance points.

The Bears will be back in action next week, taking on Bay Area rival Stanford in a home-and-home. The Battle of the Bay tips off on Thursday night, with the Bears taking on No. 17 Cardinal at 7 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion. The rivalry then returns to the East Bay, with Cal and Stanford squaring off at 2:30 PT on Senior Day.

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