STANFORD – Cameron Brink scored 25 points and made all 15 of her free throws, the last of which put Stanford ahead for good, and third-seeded Cardinal defeated No. 17 UCLA 71-66 on Monday night in their final regular season home game.
Brink hit two more shots to give her 102 blocks for the season, and her 15 free throws were the most without a miss by a Stanford player since at least 1999. Haley Jones added 18 points and converted a layup with another 1:22 to go. the cardinal by three.
Stanford (26-3, 14-2 Pac-12) has won four straight and is closing in on a third straight Pac-12 regular season title with games remaining this week at No. 21 Colorado and No. 8 Utah.
Jones hit a go-ahead jumper with 2:45 to play before Lina Sontag answered moments later with a 3 to put UCLA ahead 65-64. Brink’s last two free throws made it 66-65 with 1:53 left.
Londynn Jones scored 14 points for the Bruins (21-7, 10-6), who dropped one spot in the AP Top 25 this week and snapped their four-game winning streak. UCLA hit the boards for a 36-33 advantage and got 17 on the offensive glass.
Brink also converted a go-ahead three-point play with 8:55 left. The 6-foot-4 junior reached 100 blocks for the first time in her stellar career and set the all-time Stanford record in Friday’s 50-47 victory over Southern California — and she has yet another collegiate season to play . Brink has 280 blocks, surpassing Jayne Appel’s record of 273 set in 2006-10.
Stanford won the first meeting 72–59 on January 13 after the teams were tied after three quarters. UCLA made it interesting to the end this time.
The cold-shooting Bruins started 3 of 11 and went 5:39 without a basket in the second quarter, missing 10 straight shots as the Cardinal went on a 6–0 run. Christeen Iwuala’s putback with 3:36 left in the quarter ended a nearly six-minute streak without a UCLA field goal.
But the Bruins came out energized after halftime, with a 25-point third quarter — they only had 26 points at halftime — while holding Stanford to just four field goals in the period to take a 51-50 lead on the way to the last 10 minutes.
CURRY SUPPORTS
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry attended his second straight game at Stanford. He has been a regular this season at women’s games at The Farm and also in California at Berkeley. He sat on the baseline with Brink’s parents, Michelle and Greg.
The family of the reigning NBA Finals MVP has a close relationship with the Brinks.
“Growing up I played with a lot of young girls, we played a lot of pickup together,” said Curry. “I love that the game is growing and getting a little more exposure. I grew up watching sports and now to raise awareness about how good the women’s game is, all those things are important. I’ve had my daughters here with me to watch, I’ve had my son here with me to watch the game, and they love it. And I also support family.”
SENIOR NIGHT
The Cardinal recognized their seniors in a postgame ceremony, but also recognized each UCLA senior before the game. Stanford’s four seniors have won 116 games during their careers.
BIG PHOTO
UCLA: Scored 14 points on Stanford’s 15 turnovers. … The Bruins were 2 of 11 on 3s in the first half and 7 for 25 overall, with freshman Kiki Rice going 0 for 3. … UCLA has lost six of its last seven in the series.
Stanford: Brink has scored in double digits in 21 games in a row. … After Stanford capped USC at 22% Friday for the lowest shot by an opponent since 2010, UCLA finished at 36%.
NEXT ONE
UCLA: Host Washington State on Thursday night.
Stanford: Visits Colorado Thursday.
