LAS VEGAS – A career-high 22 points from sophomore Mikayla Cowling paved the way for a Golden Bear win as California women's basketball defeated Liberty 77-72 Saturday at the South Point Shootout from the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Cal improves to 5-1 this season.

Cowling went 9-11, including 2-3 from deep, and added three rebounds and two assists. Freshman Kristine Anigwe (4-8, 8-8 from the line) was just one board shy of her second consecutive double-double, scoring 16 points with nine rebounds. Fellow freshman Asha Thomas (4-5) nearly notched a double-double of her own with a career-high eight assists on top of 14 points.

Cal led by as much as 18 points and kept its advantage for 38 minutes of the game despite Liberty's late rally to cut the Bear lead to just three points with about a minute left.

Liberty outscored the Bears 31-21 in the fourth quarter, but Thomas scored four points in the final 42 seconds to help ice the game as the Bears held on to the win.

Cal's active defense made it difficult for the Liberty offense to generate quality shots, consistently deploying a full-court press and aggravating Liberty's ball handlers with traps in the backcourt. The result was a rough shooting performance for Liberty, who shot 41.1 percent for the game and just 27 percent in the first half.

Meanwhile, the Bears got the looks they wanted most of the game, shooting 51.9 percent as a team, including making four of eight three-point attempts, for a much-improved performance following Friday's loss to Texas A&M.

Liberty was led by Ashley Rininger (9-16), who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

NEXT UP

The Bears return to Berkeley for a five-game homestand that lasts through the end of December. The Haas Pavilion slate starts with the Four Points Sheraton Cal Classic next weekend, which Cal opens against Saint Mary's on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.

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).