STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Cameron Brink scored 25 points and made all 15 of her free throws, the last of which put Stanford ahead for good, and the third-ranked Cardinal beat No. 17 UCLA 71-66 on Monday night in their final regular-season home game.
Brink swatted 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 1:22 remaining to put the Cardinal ahead 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 with a 3 moments later to put UCLA ahead 65-64. Brink's final 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 had their four-game winning streak snapped. UCLA pounded the boards for a 36-33 advantage, getting 17 on the offensive glass.
Brink also converted a go-ahead three-point play with 8:55 remaining. The 6-foot-4 junior reached 100 blocks for the first time in her stellar career and set the all-time Stanford record during Friday's 50-47 win over Southern California — and she still has another collegiate season left to play. Brink has 280 blocks, having topped Jayne Appel’s mark of 273 set from 2006-10.
Stanford won the first meeting 72-59 on Jan. 13 after the teams were tied after three quarters. UCLA made it interesting until the end this time.
The cold-shooting Bruins began 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 stretch without a field goal by UCLA.
But the Bruins came out energized after halftime, using a 25-point third quarter — they had just 26 points at halftime — while holding Stanford to just four field goals in the period to take a 51-50 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
CURRY SUPPORTS
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry attended his second straight Stanford game. He has been a regular this season at women's games on The Farm and also at California in Berkeley. He sat on the baseline with Brink's parents, Michelle and Greg.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP's family is close with the Brinks.
“When I was growing up I played with a lot of young girls, we played a lot of pickup together,” Curry said. “I love that the game is growing and getting some more exposure. I grew up watching sports and now to drive awareness on how good the women's game is, all that stuff matters. 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'm supporting family, too.”
SENIOR NIGHT
The Cardinal recognized their seniors in a postgame ceremony but also acknowledged each UCLA senior before the game. The four Stanford seniors have won 116 games during their careers.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: Scored 14 points off 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 the last seven in the series.
Stanford: Brink has scored in double figures in 21 straight games. ... After Stanford limited USC to 22% shooting Friday for its lowest by an opponent since 2010, UCLA finished at 36%.
UP NEXT
UCLA: Hosts Washington State on Thursday night.
Stanford: Visits Colorado on Thursday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
