Cal escapes women's basketball by a point

Ashley Walker's layup with 1.8 seconds remaining gave California (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) a 54-53 win over Arizona State on Sunday.

Dymond Simon hit a 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds to go to put Arizona State up 53-52. But that left enough time for one more possession for California (11-2, 2-0 Pacific-10). Kelsey Adrian missed a layup but Walker got the loose ball underneath for the game-winner.

Simon's shot capped a 13-2 run over nearly five minutes for the Sun Devils (8-6, 0-2).

Natasha Vital scored 17 of her 19 points in the second half, including a go-ahead basket with 39 seconds left to give the Bears a 52-50 lead.

Walker then stole the ball from Simon with 19 seconds remaining and Vital was fouled, but she missed the two free throws to set up Simon's go-ahead shot.