BERKELEY – The Cal women's basketball team used a balanced offensive effort to defeat the visiting Vanguard Lions, 71-57, in Thursday night's exhibition game at Haas Pavilion. Senior forward Penina Davidson paced the Golden Bears with 17 points and seven rebounds, while CJ West (14 points), Alaysia Styles (13 points), and Asha Thomas (10 points) also scored in double-figures.

Thomas dished out a game-high six assists while sophomore guard Jaelyn Brown had a game-high nine rebounds in the win. Meghan Peneueta led Vanguard with 14 points and six rebounds.

Thursday's contest marked the final tune up for head coach Lindsay Gottlieb's squad, who enters the 2017-18 season ranked 20^th in the AP Preseason Top 25. Facing a Vanguard team that reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament last season, tonight's game served as a valuable building block for the upcoming of the season.

"It was good for us to get some of the kinks out in front of a Haas crowd," said Gottlieb, who is in her seventh season as head coach of the Bears. "We definitely have work to do to get ready for our opener, but I think we have one of the deeper teams that we've had in years. We're looking to figure out who is going to be where in the rotation and how the younger and returning players will integrate."

Cal was cold from the floor to start the exhibition game, shooting 29 percent from the field (6-21) in the opening quarter. However, the Golden Bears found their touch in the second quarter, shooting 53 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. The Bears outscored the Lions 23-10 in the second quarter, taking a 17-point lead into the locker room.

The second half saw Styles, a freshman wing, enter the game and make the most of her first minutes in Cal uniform. The rookie from San Diego finished with 13 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and added four rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. Fellow freshmen Kianna Smith and Archer Olson also saw their first minutes at Haas, while a total of 11 players saw the floor for the Cal.

The Golden Bears were without junior center Kristine Anigwe, a two-time honorable mention All-American and unanimous Preseason All-Pac-12 selection, who is recovering from a minor knee injury. Anigwe is expected to return to the court early in the season, but the Bears were still productive in the post in her absence. Cal outscored Vanguard 44-18 in the paint, behind 17 points from Davidson and 14 points from West, a sophomore center from Bakersfield.

"I think it's great that we have a team that's capable of not necessarily filling Kristine's shoes, but still doing what we need to do to be successful," said Davidson, a senior from Auckland, New Zealand. "When Kristine comes in, she'll integrate right back in perfectly fine."

The Bears now set their sights on season opener, hosting Saint Mary's at 5 p.m. PT on Friday, November 10. Cal opened the season last year in Moraga, beating the Gaels, 74-67, behind 19 points from Thomas on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

The November 10 opener is a double-header with the Cal men's basketball team, who host UC Riverside at 9 p.m. PT. Fans can get into the women's game for free by presenting either their Cal men's basketball ticket to the box office or their ticket stub from Cal Football's home finale on November 4 vs Oregon State.

For more information on season, group, or single-game tickets, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.

Keep 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).