Haley Jones, Cameron Brink lead No. 2 Stanford women past No. 8 UCLA

LOS ANGELES — Haley Jones scored 16 points, Cameron Brink added 12 and second-ranked Stanford scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter to pull away for a 72-59 victory over No. 8 UCLA on Friday night.

Jones also had 12 rebounds and six assists to help the Cardinal (17-1, 5-0 Pac-12) extend their winning streak over conference opponents to 38 games. Brink added 11 rebounds.

“At halftime I was disappointed with some of our shots,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “I thought people were rushing shots, not running our offense and turning the ball over. And then I think we settled down in the second half.”

It is the third straight season the Cardinal have opened conference play 5-0. It is also their fourth straight win against a Pac-12 team ranked in the top 10.

Stanford led 51-49 going into the fourth quarter when Brink took over. The junior scored six points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked six shots in the quarter as the Cardinal jumped out to a 66-49 advantage.

Agnes Emma-Nnopu was another factor, with all of her season-high nine points coming in the final 10 minutes.

“I think we’re just scratching the surface of how good we can be. We’re just figuring out how to play people and how to play together,” VanDerveer said.

UCLA (14-3, 3-2) missed 12 shots and committed four turnovers before Gina Conti hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining for the Bruins’ first points.

Charisma Osborne and Conti scored 13 points apiece and Emily Bessoir had 10 for UCLA.

The loss was frustrating for Bruins coach Cori Close, who saw her team play one of the nation’s best tough for three quarters before falling apart in the fourth.

UCLA was tied at 47 at top-ranked South Carolina on Nov. 29 before losing 73-64. The 13-point defeat to the Cardinal was the Bruins’ biggest loss of the season.

“To get out-toughed and out-rebounded in the second half really stings,” Close said. “We didn’t take care of the things under our control. We had too many mental errors.”

Block party

Brink, who came into the game second in the nation in blocked shots, finished with a career-high seven blocks. It was her fifth game this season with at least five blocked shots.

Milestone

Osborne is the 20th player in UCLA history to reach 1,500 points with a layup late in the third quarter. The senior has 1,501 points.

The takeaway

Stanford: The Cardinal have held their last 19 conference opponents under 69 points.

UCLA: The Bruins have a six-game losing streak against teams ranked in the top 10. Three of those losses have been against Stanford.

Up next

Stanford: At USC on Sunday.

UCLA: Hosts Cal on Sunday.