Victory In Seattle - California Golden Bears Athletics

Sunday, February 2

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

California

9-12,1-9Pac-12

Washington

10-11,2-8Pac-12

Team	1	2	3	4	OT 1	F
California	22	17	13	15	14	81
Washington	14	8	19	26	7	74

CJ West scored a career-high 22 points in Cal's overtime win at Washington.

Photo by: Juan Montermoso/klcfotos

2/2/2020 1:44 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Cal Wins Overtime Thriller Against Washington For First Conference Victory

By: Cal Athletics

SEATTLE – Perseverance paid off for the Cal women's basketball team on Sunday, as the Golden Bears picked up their first Pac-12 win in thrilling fashion with an 81-74 victory over Washington in overtime at Alaska Airlines Arena. With the win, the Bears (9-12, 1-9 Pac-12) snapped their nine-game losing streak and secured the season split against the Huskies (10-11, 2-7 Pac-12).

"It's great to get that monkey off our back and get into the win column," said Cal head coach Charmin Smith. "We've been fighting and working really hard, and I wanted this really bad for our players. We've felt good about who we are, and our chemistry and our culture, but winning makes a difference. I'm really proud of how we fought today and that should hopefully give us a boost as we head into the final eight games of Pac-12 play."

Senior center CJ West had a career day to lead the Bears, scoring a career-high 22 points and adding nine rebounds on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor. Classmate Jaelyn Brown added 19 points and 11 rebounds for her third career triple-double, all of which have come this season. Junior forward Alaysia Styles added 17 points on an efficient 8-for-11 outing from the floor while freshman point guard Leilani McIntosh finished with six points, eight assists, and eight rebounds while playing all 45 minutes.

Washington guard Amber Melgoza led all scorers with 35 points, going 14-24 from the floor.

Cal led by as many as 17 points on the day and held a double-digit cushion for much of the game. But Washington would not go away and closed the fourth quarter on a 16-3 run to force overtime.

Yet despite the surge by the Huskies, Cal regained momentum quickly in overtime, opening the extra period on a 10-2 run and maintaining control until the final buzzer.

"Overtime is when a lot of people fold and the momentum completely shifted in [Washington's] direction, but we didn't quit," said Smith. "We stole the momentum right back and made big-time plays. I'm really proud of how this group held on and continued to fight."

Looking to rebound after a 92-66 loss on Friday at Washington State, the Bears got off to a hot start and opened the game on a 9-3 run. Brown and West scored Cal's first nine point of the day as the Bears connected on four of their first five attempts from the floor.

Cal carried that momentum into the second quarter and seized control with a 13-0 run, holding the Huskies scoreless for the first 5:30 of the second quarter.

The Bears took a 39-22 lead into the locker room, but the Huskies would not go away and forced the Bears into four turnovers in the first two minutes of the second half. Washington forced Cal into a season-high 23 turnovers on the day, which the Huskies converted into 21 points off turnovers.

However, the Bears were able to capitalize on the interior, outscoring the Huskies 46-36 in the paint and finishing the day with 18 assists while shooting 56.1 percent (32-57) from the floor. McIntosh matched her career-high with eight assists, while also setting a new career-best with eight rebounds.

The Bears return to Berkeley next weekend, hosting their rivals from SoCal for a pair of games at Haas Pavilion. Cal opens the weekend on Friday night against USC, taking on the Women of Troy (11-10, 3-7 Pac-12) at 7 p.m. PT.

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