LAS VEGAS - After rattling off four consecutive wins to close the regular season, the Cal women's basketball team carried its momentum into the first game of postseason, beating Washington State, 77-58, in the First Round of the Pac-12 Tournament. The Golden Bears (19-11, 9-9 Pac-12) used a strong fourth quarter performance to pull away from the Cougars (9-21, 4-14 Pac-12) and advance to the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals for the 17th consecutive season. 

Kristine Anigwe led all scorers with 27 points to go along with 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. With her three blocks against the Cougars, Anigwe pushed her career total to 200, breaking the previous Cal career record of 198 which stood for over 30 years. Anigwe recorded her 31st consecutive double-double, extending what is already the longest double-double streak in Pac-12 history. Her 16 rebounds tied Cal's Pac-12 tournament single-game record and maintained her season average of 16.4 rebounds per game on the year.

Three other players scored in double-figures for the Bears: Kianna Smith (15 points), Recee Calwell (14 points), and Jaelyn Brown (12 rebounds). Caldwell added nine assists while Asha Thomas added nine assists of her own and did not commit a single turnover in 35 minutes of action. Overall, the Bears finished the night with a season-high 21 assists on 34 made field goals. 

Channelle Molina led Washington State with 24 points while Borislava Hrisotva added 10 points for the Cougars.

Cal led 36-34 after a tightly contested first half, but found its momentum in the third quarter. Caldwell scored nine of her 14 points in the third as the Bears took a 57-51 lead into the fourth quarter. From there, the Bears went on an 11-1 run and held the Cougars to just seven total points in the fourth quarter. 

Cal will now face Bay Area rival Stanford on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. This will be the eighth meeting all-time between the Bears and Cardinal (25-4, 15-3 Pac-12) at the Pac-12 Tournament and their first since the 2015 Pac-12 Tournament Championship game, which the Cardinal won by a score of 61-60. Cal looks to advance to tournament semifinals for the first time since 2016 and pick up its first win ever over the Cardinal at the Pac-12 Tournament. The teams split both regular season meetings, which each team winning on its home court. Cal opened the Battle of the Bay with an 81-80 win on January 31 at Haas Pavilion as Thomas hit an acrobatic layup as time expired for the walk-off win. Stanford responded with a 75-50 win just two days later on the Farm.