After defeating Arizona on Sunday, No. 2 Stanford women’s basketball (17-3, 8-0 Pac-12) rode its momentum past UCLA on Thursday (9-8, 4-5 Pac-12), beating the Bruins 76-48.
The first quarter started out even-keeled by both teams. For every shot UCLA made, the Cardinal would follow up with one of their own. This trend ended with about four minutes left in the first frame when senior guard Lexie Hull drilled two consecutive three-pointers, shifting the momentum to Stanford.
From that moment, Stanford would hold the Bruins scoreless for the rest of the quarter. After yet another three-pointer by Hull, the quarter ended 22-14 in favor of Stanford.
Starting the second quarter, the Cardinal seemed to have lost their momentum from Hull’s first-quarter performance. After a two-minute slump, sophomore forward Cameron Brink made a jumper within the paint and was immediately followed by Hull’s twin — senior guard Lacie Hull — knocking down a three. The Cardinal kept up their three-point shooting with three more consecutive triples by freshman forward Brooke Demetre, junior forward Ashten Prechtel and Lexie Hull.
After this scoring output, Stanford let off the gas for the rest of the quarter, going into halftime on top 40-24.
Stanford dominated from beyond the arc in the first half, going 8-for-16, including three by Lexie Hull. Junior forward Francesca Belibi, who started in place of junior guard Haley Jones due to COVID-19 health and safety protocol, also notched eight points and seven rebounds in the half.
The Cardinal also got 12 points from their bench, in comparison to UCLA’s four bench points.
After the Bruins shifted to a zone defense, the Cardinal started attacking the paint. Led by Brink and Belibi, Stanford scored most of its points in the third quarter from short range. After a quarter of steady play, the Cardinal led 57-33 with 10 minutes left in the game.
Following the game-low 17-point third quarter, the Cardinal went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter. Stanford went on a 12-0 run, shooting 5-for-6 in the roughly three-minute stretch.
After a second-chance layup by Belibi that put the Cardinal up by 36, head coach Tara VanDerveer pulled the starters from the game. A few scores later, the game ended with the Cardinal on top 76-48.
This game was the re-emergence of Belibi, who tied her season-high with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Brink contributed 17 points and eight rebounds. Despite a quiet second half, Lexie Hull finished the game with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Off the bench, sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek scored six points to go along with three rebounds.
Following the win, Stanford looks to extend its win streak to double-digits as it takes on USC (9-9, 2-6 Pac-12) on Sunday in Los Angeles at 3 p.m. PT.