UCLA No Match as Stanford Wins

UCLA, playing its first game without its leading scorer and rebounder Noelle Quinn, knew it could not have asked for a tougher Pacific 10 Conference opponent than Stanford.

Then again, the Bruins could have had Lisa Leslie and Diana Taurasi on their side Thursday and it might not have made much difference.

Not as long as the fifth-ranked Cardinal was going to shoot the lights out (37 of 66, 56.1%), especially from beyond the three-point line, where they made 15 of 29 attempts. That was more than enough offense to swamp No. 25 UCLA, 100-75, before 3,294 at Maples Pavilion.

The 15 three-pointers were one shy of the team record.

Senior guard Kelley Suminski, who made a season-high five three-pointers, had 21 points for the Cardinal, 16-2 and 7-1 in the Pac-10. Five Stanford players scored in double figures; freshman guard Candice Wiggins was the next highest with 19.

It was the seventh straight win overall for Stanford and the 12th in a row over UCLA, including conference tournament play. UCLA’s last win over Stanford was on March 3, 2000, and the Bruins haven’t beaten Stanford on its home floor since Jan. 16, 1999.

“It was an excellent team win. A lot of people contributed,” Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer said.

“UCLA’s obviously not the same team without Noelle, but they played very hard and they can disrupt you. They gave us things to work on.”

It was the third straight loss for the Bruins (11-6, 5-3), who have more to worry about than falling out of the top 25 in all probability and the fact that Quinn -- who is out until late February or March after undergoing surgery for torn cartilage in her left knee -- won’t be able to help out anytime soon. Now they have to keep a once-promising season from falling apart.

The other two-thirds of the Bruins’ Big Three did the best they could. Nikki Blue had a season high 26 points and Lisa Willis -- who made seven three-pointers herself -- had 25. After Lindsey Pluimer’s 10 points, no other Bruin had more than six.

When asked whether she was concerned about the season unraveling, Coach Kathy Olivier said: “I don’t think like that. I have two very good players [Blue and Willis]; they know they have to pick it up and they did that tonight. And Pluimer had a double-double. Those three will help us. We’re kind of figuring the rest out.”

For much of its season, UCLA has been able to mask its biggest weakness -- no strong inside post presence -- by sending every player after rebounds, then using speed and an active defense to keep games within reach. But Stanford, which outrebounded UCLA, 40-29, exposed that strategy.

The Bruins actually led in the game very early. Their biggest margin came on a three-pointer by Willis at the 17:07 mark, putting UCLA ahead, 9-5.

But the rest of the game belonged to the Cardinal.

A 28-6 run midway through the first half gave the Cardinal a 33-15 lead. UCLA managed to cut the deficit to 46-31 at halftime, but Stanford remained focused the rest of the contest, leading by as many as 34 points.