No. 2 Stanford puts the clamps on No. 8 UCLA late to secure a huge victory

In what was a marquee game in the college basketball world, No. 2 Stanford headed down South to play what was their second top-15 matchup in their last three games against No. 8 UCLA.

The game was tightly contested in the first half and the two teams actually went into half deadlocked at 32. Stanford's head head coach Tara VanDerveer was not pleased with how her team was performing in the first half saying:

"At halftime I was disappointed with some of our shots, 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."

After a strong third quarter that saw Stanford go on a couple runs, it was the fourth quarter where they really showed their dominance. The Cardinal held the Bruins scoreless in the final quarter until the 1:52 mark, going on a 15-0 run that helped Stanford's lead never fall within single digits again. The Cardinal would go on to win by a margin of 72-59.

Led by a strong outing from Hayley Jones who finished the game with a double-double, dropping 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, Stanford out-rebounded the Bruins by 17 rebounds. For Jones, this games marks her third straight double-double, and her fourth in the last five games.

Cameron Brink also had another strong night scoring 12 points and recording a career high seven blocks.

Not to mention, two Goats were in the building as WNBA star Sue Bird and U.S. Women's National Team star Megan Rapinoe were in the building.

Women's sports royalty 👑

Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe are in the house for No. 2 @StanfordWBB vs No.8 @UCLAWBB. pic.twitter.com/MC8mvlg7pk
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 14, 2023

The Cardinal are 4-1 against top-25 teams with their lone loss being against No. 1 South Carolina in a game that they very well should have won. Their average margin of victory against ranked opponents is a whopping 15 points.

The win over UCLA marks the third straight season the Cardinal have opened conference play 5-0, and it is also their fourth straight win against a Pac-12 team ranked in the top-10.

The Cardinal (17-1) will stay in Los Angeles for their next game, as they are set to take on USC (12-4).