In a duel for supremacy atop the Pac-10, the No. 4 Stanford women’s basketball team (15-2, 6-0 Pac-10) thumped the No. 8 UCLA Bruins (15-2, 5-1 Pac-10), 64-38, on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion.

The Bruins, previously undefeated in Pac-10 play, came in riding high after dismantling the Oregon schools last weekend, but the Cardinal proved that the road to the Pac-10 title will go through Maples once again in 2011.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer, pleased with the tough victory, gave credit to her leaders.

“I’m really pleased with how our team battled,” she said. “UCLA is a very aggressive team, and I think our leadership and our frontline really battled.”

Stanford’s “Big Three” of senior forward Kayla Pedersen, senior guard Jeanette Pohlen and junior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike were dominant, as all three finished in double figures on the scoreboard.

Pedersen was the MVP of the three, dropping in 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor, as well as adding 10 rebounds en route to her fourth double-double of the season and her second-highest point total of the year.

The Bruins came out challenging the Cardinal at every turn in the first half, including pressing the entire length of the court on every Cardinal possession.

UCLA may have been making Stanford earn its baskets, but the Cardinal was also the only team scoring early on. The Bruins’ first basket of the game came with 15:15 left in the half.

The game moved quickly and quietly until a Pedersen three-pointer followed by a left-handed layup gave the Cardinal a 15-4 lead with 11:02 to go in the half.

For UCLA, preseason Naismith Award candidate Jasmine Dixon took the Bruins into her own hands. Dixon, who finished with 12 points, then made three consecutive buckets for the Bruins, cutting the Stanford lead to nine points with 6:20 left in the half.

Freshman forward Chiney Ogwumike made back-to-back buckets, then redshirt senior Melanie Murphy, playing for the first time this season, poked away a steal and took it all the way for a layup to give Stanford the 32-15 lead it held at the halfway mark.

The “Big Three” then put the game on ice, as they combined for 21 points on a 23-6 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Pedersen ended the game with 18 points, Pohlen with 14 and Nnemkadi Ogwumike with 13.

Stanford’s defense was once again solid, and UCLA struggled to find the basket all night, shooting a meager 29.4 percent for the game. Bruin head coach Nikki Caldwell described the shooting as “horrible,” but also gave credit to a Stanford team that has the advantage in the Pac-10 once again.

“I think they have all of the makings of a championship run. You look at the size, the shooters, the leadership, the experience,” Caldwell said. “They’ve been there, they know what it’s like when you get to that final game and you don’t walk away with that trophy. When you’re in that situation, you come back even hungrier.”

Stanford has now beaten three top-10 opponents by a total of 75 points at Maples this season, but the Cardinal still had a few troubles. Stanford outrebounded UCLA 44-27, but only had 13 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 15 times.

“I’m not trying to be a killjoy, but the bar is really high for this team,” VanDerveer said. “In order to really go where we want to go, we can’t just say ‘Oh, everything was okay.’ Teams are being physical, teams are being super aggressive and we can’t have the ball taken out of our hands.”

When asked if this was the best the team could play, Nnemkadi Ogwumike echoed her coach.

“No. At the same time, I think we’ve improved. Obviously, we’re playing well, but we want to win game the way we really want to,” she said. “With every project that we have, we kind of forget about another thing.”

Stanford will have another chance to improve tomorrow afternoon, when the Cardinal hosts USC. The Trojans looked to be another top contender for taking a share of the Pac-10 lead, as they entered the weekend with just one conference loss. The Trojans (12-5, 4-2) lost a bit of steam last night, however, falling to Cal in Berkeley by a score of 82-71.

Regardless, VanDerveer gives praise for USC’s strong play this season.

“I’ve been really impressed watching USC play,” she said. “They’re a different team and some teams match up better with other teams. They played a really good game against Xavier, and Xavier is a great team with great players. They have great speed, when I watch them they’re not as athletic…but they have some really talented offensive players. They’re getting to be that same team like UCLA, with more experience.”

The Trojans ultimately lost that early December game against Xavier, 69-66. Regardless, the narrow loss against the then-No. 4 Musketeers was enough to turn heads around the Pac-10, if not the nation.

The Cardinal may see more of Murphy tomorrow, too.

“I think that [it’s good] having another option with [Murphy’s] experience,” VanDerveer said. “And she feels quicker. She feels like she’s moving really well. I think it would be great to have another experienced, healthy body out there.”

The Trojans will visit Maples Pavilion Saturday afternoon, tipping off with the Cardinal at 2 p.m.