Texas A&M coach Gary Blair had a straightforward message during a timeout early in the second half after a sloppy start put the No. 7 Aggies behind by a basket to California.
''Stop turning the dang ball over,'' Sydney Colson said Blair told them.
They listened and went on to a 74-58 win Saturday over California behind Danielle Adams' 19 points and 10 rebounds with 17 points by Tyra White.
The Golden Bears (5-2) took advantage of five Texas A&M turnovers to go on an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the second half and take a 40-38 lead.
''They ran a zone and we were making bad passes on the interior and not even getting shots up,'' Colson said. ''We put ourselves in a bad position, just giving them confidence.''
After Blair's directive, the Aggies (6-0) responded with a 12-1 run to go back on top 50-41 with 13 1/2 minutes to play. Texas A&M outscored California over the next few minutes to stretch the lead to 58-45 with nine minutes remaining.
The Golden Bears were led by Layshia Clarendon, who had 19 points, and DeNesha Stallworth added 14.
Adams got two fouls early and played less than eight minutes in the first half. Maryann Baker filled in and added a career-high 14 points and had five rebounds for the Aggies.
''It felt good,'' Baker said. ''It was just what my team needed. Usually, I'm not the offensive spark.''
Colson, who struggled with a foot injury earlier this season, had eight points, 10 assists and five steals in a season-high 33 minutes.
''Colson was very good except for the first five minutes of the second half, where we were all bad,'' Blair said. ''Colson, I think is one of the best in the country when healthy. Colson is a leader. You win with guards.''
Blair wants to see his team play better in the first few minutes after halftime.
''We were not playing with emotion,'' he said. ''We've got to start the second half with a little more focus and more energy. When a team is down at halftime and they're getting chewed out, they're going to make some adjustments and you better be able to counter their adjustments.''
The Golden Bears focused on slowing Adams, but were unhappy with their work against Baker, who scored 10 points between the 14- and 8-minute marks of the first half to keep the Aggies ahead
''That's where I'm disappointed in our team,'' California coach Joanne Boyle said. ''We didn't do anything to take anything away from her. That's the one thing that we could have controlled better.''
The Aggies were up 62-47 with about seven minutes remaining after scoring six straight points. California cut into the lead by scoring the next seven points after a 3-pointer by Clarendon with just under five minutes remaining.
Adams made a free throw and a layup sandwiched around a pair of free throws by the Golden Bears to make it 65-56. Then Texas A&M scored six straight points and put the game out of reach with 1 1/2 minutes remaining.
''We just didn't do a good job with the speed of the offense we were playing,'' Boyle said.
Texas A&M finished the first half on a 6-3 run to take a 38-29 halftime lead.
