BERKELEY, CALIF. - The Cal Golden Bears advanced to the finals of the Contra Costa Times Classic after defeating the Lions 71-36. Sophomore guard Michele Gage led Columbia with 10 points and eight rebounds in front of her hometown crowd. The Lions are now 2-3 on the season as Cal advanced to 5-2.

Both teams started out slow with Columbia taking a 4-2 lead with 15:56 left in the half. The Golden Bears took back the lead 9-4, but a three-pointer by Gage and a second effort basket by sophomore forward Brittney Carfora evened up the score. Cal then scored 11 unanswered points to take a 20-9 lead. After a media timeout, California found their rhythm and started to gain a sizeable lead on the Lions. By the end of the half, the Golden Bears were able to gain a 23-point lead on Columbia (37-14).

Cal's Ashely Walker led all players with 15 points and Devanei Hampton led with eight rebounds. The Lions shot 17.6 percent from the floor as compared to the Golden Bears, who made 45.7 percent of their shots.

The second half saw more of the same from Cal as the Golden Bears continued to build on their already sizeable lead. California scored another 34 points as opposed to the Lions 22 points to win by a final score of 71-36. Walker finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds. Gage finished as Columbia's top scorer with 10 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Lions went to the line twice in the game, going 1-for-2. The Golden Bears, however, went to the line 23 times, but made only seven (30.4 percent).

Columbia will face Albany tomorrow in the consolation game of the Contra Costa Times Classic. Game time is 4 p.m. Eastern Standard time.