CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. –With the help of junior Courtney Range's 23 points, including 13 in the second half, California women's basketball overcame a cold-shooting first half to take a 67-58 victory over Austin Peay State in the season opener from the Winfield Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tenn.

Range was just four points shy of her career high, with freshmen Kristine Anigwe and Asha Thomas and sophomore Gabby Green joining her in double figures. Anigwe put up 11 points in her Golden Bear debut, while Green and Thomas each added 10.

Range also doubled her career-high steal total with four for the night, while sophomore Penina Davidson doubled her personal-best rebound total with eight.

The Bears are now 27-16 all-time in season openers, and 4-1 in openers at with head coach Lindsay Gottlieb at the helm, including a 2-1 record in season openers on the road.

The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute on a trey from sophomore Gabby Green and a layup by Courtney Range. The Lady Govs started a trend that would continue throughout the first half as Tiasha Gray took control of her offense and pulled APSU within one, 5-4.

The back-and-forth continued, with Cal leading by as much as 11 points in the first period despite Gray slowly chipping at the lead. The Bears led the Lady Govs 19-13 after the first quarter.

Cold shooting in the second quarter put Cal in a precarious position when the halftime buzzer sounded as Austin Peay trailed by just two points, 33-31. Cal went 6-24 for a 25 percent clip, while Gray's nine second-quarter points kept the Lady Govs in the game.

Cal shook off its first-half jitters for a much improved third quarter. The Bears held Gray, who scored 17 in the first half, to just two points, while Cal racked up a 22-11 advantage over the Lady Govs over the quarter. Range did the bulk of her work in the third, going 5-7, including 2-2 from beyond the arc, to add12 points to her total.

Green capped off Cal's third-quarter run with a steal and a triple in a series that sparked her team into emotion and punctuated the Bears' gritty victory. By the end of the third, Cal commanded the game with a 55-42 lead.

The Bears held the Lady Govs off for the final quarter to take their first win of the season.

Cal shot 34.7 percent for the game.

NEXT UP

The Bears continue their tour of the South with a high-profile matchup at No. 8 Louisville on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. from the KFC Yum! Center.

2015-16 TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2015-16 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $27 ($1.59 per game, 17 games) for youth and seniors and $84 ($4.94 per game, 17 games) for adult general admission tickets, while single-game tickets are available starting at $3 for youth and seniors and $8 for adults. For more information, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.

JOIN THE BEARS ON THISISCALBASKETBALL.COM

Cal's one-of-a-kind multimedia fan site, ThisIsCalBasketball.com, is back for its fifth season and once again features an unprecedented look into the inner workings of the personalities behind the Cal women's basketball's roster. Visitors to ThisIsCalBasketball.com can get an in-depth look at the people behind the jerseys, from action and portrait photos to bio videos told in their teammates' own words. New to the site this year is The Challenge, a six-part reality show-style miniseries based on the Bears' Amazing Race-esque hunt around campus.

KEEP POSTED

Stay up-to-date on the latest Cal women's basketball news by following the Bears on social media. View behind-the-scenes photos and videos and learn more about Cal and its student-athletes on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).