At her best, guard Alexis Gray-Lawson elevated the Cal women's basketball team to lofty places last season. When she scored 37 points, the Golden Bears knocked off powerful rival Stanford 57-54.

But Gray-Lawson battled consistency issues, and in the Bears' seven defeats, she averaged just 8.9 points.

"We joke about 37 against Stanford, then six against somebody else," Cal coach Joanne Boyle said recently. "At times we would talk to Lex about disappearing in games, and there's none of that this year. She has to really set her mind to being an obvious player on the floor for us."

The only thing obvious Tuesday night against visiting Saint Mary's College was that Gray-Lawson still hasn't totally conquered her consistency issues. The preseason unanimous All-Pac-10 pick appeared frustrated at times before the 17th-ranked Bears (2-0) rallied for a 68-65 victory.

Cal freshman Layshia Clarendon sank a 12-foot jumper for a 67-65 lead with 46.7 seconds left. Gray-Lawson then stole the ball but missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 30 seconds left. After the Gaels misfired, Clarendon made one of two free throws for the final margin.

The Gaels (1-1), who led by five points with 41/2 minutes left, nearly posted their first win over a nationally ranked team since beating No. 12 Stanford 74-63 in Moraga on Nov. 17, 2000.

Gray-Lawson finished with nine points on 3-for-14 shooting. Natasha Vital led Cal with 17

Saint Mary's got 12 points from Katie Batlin and 10 each from Ashlee Smith and Kate Gaze, the niece of Australian Olympic legend Andrew Gaze.

Gray-Lawson will need to be on her game Sunday, when No. 8 Baylor visits Haas Pavilion. Gone from last season's 27-7 NCAA Tournament squad are post players Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton. It falls into the lap of the 5-foot-8 senior from Oakland Tech High to help make up the difference.

An unabashed Kobe Bryant fan, Gray-Lawson spent time in the offseason studying tapes of the Los Angeles Lakers star.

"I was trying to see how he can be selfish and make sure all his teammates are performing to the level they need to be performing at," she said.

Gray-Lawson's summer also included a stint with USA Basketball, contributing to a 7-0 gold-medal effort at the World University Games in Serbia.

"Coming off the 21-and-under team, playing with those great players," Boyle said, "she understands the level she has to play at."