WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : Burge Twins Return, Fuel Virginia Past UCLA, 77-55

The Burge twins’ homecoming is still sweet. The top-ranked Virginia women’s basketball team is still perfect and UCLA’s is anything but.

The Cavaliers came to town looking for a challenge, but what they found was another easy victory, taking UCLA in stride at Pauley Pavilion, 77-55.

As for former Palos Verdes High standouts Heather and Heidi Burge, all went well before a couple of hundred fans, many of them family and friends.

Heather Burge scored 14 points in 22 minutes. Heidi added nine. The two combined for 11 rebounds.

“In the beginning, I was really excited, anxious,” said Heather Burge, who, along with her 6-foot-5 identical twin, was playing in Southern California for the first time since joining Virginia for the 1989-90 season. “Maybe a little too anxious. I missed a lot of easy shots I usually make.”

Virginia (8-0) opened a 26-6 lead and never looked back.

Cavalier guard Dawn Staley, last season’s women’s college basketball player of the year, had four steals and nine assists. Her six points was well below her 17-point average, but her defense more than made up for it.

The Bruins’ Rehema Stephens had team-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Bruin Coach Billie Moore had said the game would give her team “an opportunity to see what we have to work on.”

“These players have to learn to be more physical,” Moore said. “This game will help, because when we go up against the stronger teams, we can look back and say ‘Hey, remember Virginia.’ ”

That shouldn’t be too difficult.

The Bruins weren’t the only ones outclassed Saturday.

In the first game of the four-team tournament, USC (4-2) beat Cal State Northridge, 92-38.

Lisa Leslie and Joni Easterly averaged a point a minute for USC, Easterly leading all players with 24 points. Leslie had 23.

USC plays Virginia tonight at 6. Northridge (0-14) will play against UCLA (4-3).