espnW Women's Basketball

ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Ashley Walker scored 20 of her 32 points in the first half to help No. 3 California rout Iowa 76-43 on Saturday night and win the Reef Division at the Paradise Jam tournament.

Alexis Gray-Lawson added 10 points, including the 1,000th of her career on a layup just before the half.

"I am excited," Gray-Lawson said of her milestone. "Ashley and Dev [Hampton] both got to score theirs at home, so its weird to be doing it here. I was hoping to do it at home, but I'm really excited. It's great."

Cal (6-0) is off to its best start ever; the 1981-82 team won its first five games.

Trailing 8-2, Cal went on a 24-2 run to take a commanding 26-10 lead. Walker scored the first 11 points of the spurt and helped the Bears take a 40-20 lead at the half. Cal never looked back as Iowa couldn't make a run in the second half.

Walker's 32 points matched her career high.

"Ashley Walker was huge tonight, but I think everyone contributed," Cal coach Joanne Boyle said. "I think they brought what they needed to bring each day so we could come out of this tournament with three wins."

Wendy Audesmore led Iowa (4-3) with 10 points.

"Wendy is a gutsy kid," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "She had three treatments today on her sprained ankle and played as hard as she could. I really admire her effort tonight."

Walker, the Paradise Jam tournament MVP, had the fourth 30-point game of her career and second straight. She finished the tournament averaging 22 points.

"Ashley Walker is a tremendous player," Bluder said. "We didn't have an answer for her tonight. When we went to a zone to clog-up the middle, they knocked down the open three."