On Sunday, Cal women’s basketball defeated Washington 81-74 in overtime on the road. Cal senior center CJ West scored a career-high 22 points to go along with 9 rebounds while Cal junior forward Alaysia Styles had 17 points. Washington senior guard Amber Melgoza went off for 35 points, becoming the 14th member of the Huskies program to join the 1500 point club. Cal improves to 9-12 overall and 1-9 in the Pac-12 as they pick up their first Pac-12 win of the season and first Pac-12 win of the Charmin Smith era. As for Washington, they fall to 10-11 overall and 2-8 in the Pac-12.

Cal got off to a strong start in this game, leading 13-8 with 4:42 to go in the 1st quarter. CJ West (6 points) and Jaelyn Brown (5 points) were off to a hot start for Cal. Amber Melgoza (5 points) was off to a hot start for Washington as well, doing what she does best. Cal would keep the good vibes rolling through the rest of the quarter as they would lead 22-14 at the end of the 1st. Brown was up to 7 points for Cal while Melgoza had 7 points for Washington. Cal was shooting 8-14 (57.1%) from the field while Washington was shooting 6-16 (37.5%). It was a really strong start for the Golden Bears.

Cal built on that momentum to go up 24-14 with 8:46 to go in the 2nd quarter after a pretty bucket inside from Styles. Washington called for time, hoping to stop the bleeding. Washington’s timeout didn’t pay off the way they wanted it to as Cal would close out the half on a 15-8 run to lead 39-22 at halftime. Brown was up to 11 points and 5 rebounds for Cal while Melgoza had 13 points for Washington.

Washington got out to a strong start in the 2nd half as Cal led 47-35 with 4:50 to go in the 3rd quarter. After looking like they might cruise to victory, Cal let them back in the game. West was up to 12 points and 6 rebounds for Cal. Cal’s combination of rebounding and perimeter defense was the reason they were in front. But with some more perimeter shots from Washington starting to fall, they saw their lead shrink a bit.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Cal led 52-41. Washington outscored Cal 19-13 in the quarter, doing a great job of getting back in the game. Melgoza was up to 16 points, really carrying the load for the Huskies. Still, Cal held a double digit lead as West (14 points), Brown (11 points) and Styles (10 points) were all in double figures. It was just a matter of finishing the job.

With 6:49 to go, Cal led 58-46. At this point, Cal was looking to hang on and not let their hard work go to waste. West and Brown each had 4 fouls, so there was a little bit of concern about foul trouble for Cal and how they would navigate this final stretch. With 4:53 to go, Cal was up 62-50 after a bucket inside from Melgoza that drew a foul on Brown. Washington was hoping that would spark a comeback. As for Brown, it appeared she had fouled out since the commentators thought she had 4 fouls before. Instead, she had actually had 3 fouls, making that foul she just committed against Melgoza her 4th. Another foul evidently went for someone else.

With 3:08 to go, Cal was up 64-54, looking like they would finish the job. Melgoza was up to 22 points for Washington after a 3-pointer. But if her team was going to come back, it would take a bit of luck.

Over the next minute and a half, Washington increased their ball pressure, trying to speed up Cal and it worked as they went on a 7-1 run to trail 65-61 with 1:38 to go after a 3-pointer from Darcy Rees. Washington wasn’t done yet as they would then tie the game up 65-65. After both teams traded baskets it was tied 67-67 with 36.0 to go. Melgoza was going wild and the game as a whole was pandemonium. Utterly insane what was going on in Seattle. In a rather fitting ending to regulation, the game stayed tied and went into overtime 67-67. After thinking they had the game in the bag, Cal found themselves in an intense overtime game.

Rather than caving, Cal went back to work to start overtime as Alaysia Styles and CJ West were the first ones to strike. With 1:37 to go in overtime, Cal would lead 77-69 as Styles and West each had 4 points in the period. They really stepped up.

With 41.4 to go in the period, Cal was up 79-73. Just looking to not once again blow their lead. This time Cal held on, winning 81-74. After squandering their lead in regulation, Cal made sure to finish what they started in overtime. Considering how frustrating this Pac-12 season has been for Cal, it was huge to pick up their first win of league play. Especially on the road in overtime.

When looking at the box score, Cal’s 42-31 edge on the boards stands out as does Washington’s 5-27 (18.5%) shooting from 3-point range. Cal did a great job controlling the paint while also not allowing Washington to find a good rhythm from deep. While they did allow Washington to get back in the game and force overtime, Cal still deserves a lot of credit for regrouping and pulling out the win.

Up next for Cal is a home game on Friday against USC. That game will tipoff at 7:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks.