WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : UCLA Loses Williams and Game

UCLA’s women’s basketball team lost a winning streak and one of the nation’s best basketball players Saturday night when Stanford beat the Bruins, 94-82, before 7,005 at Maples Pavilion.

Natalie Williams suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury with 5:21 left in the first half and spent the rest of the game on the bench, her right knee bagged in ice.

The victory enabled the Cardinal, which has won seven in a row and 10 of its last 11, to keep pace with Pacific 10 Conference leader USC, which beat California.

The Trojans have three games left and lead the Pac-10 at 13-2. Stanford, with four left, is 11-3. UCLA, with three left, dropped to 10-5.

Williams, a senior All-American, fell and landed awkwardly after a rebound attempt and was helped off the court. Ted Nichols, an orthopedic surgeon who is Stanford’s team doctor, said the injury showed signs of being a damaged anterior cruciate ligament.

UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said UCLA doctors would examine Williams’ knee today.

The injury was a blow to both Williams and her team. The 6-foot-1 center was coming off a 43-point, 15-rebound night at Berkeley Thursday night, where UCLA defeated Cal.

But when she was helped off the court Saturday, she had scored only two points and had two rebounds.

At the time, Stanford led, 37-24.

While the Bruins regrouped in the minutes after Williams’ departure, Stanford went on a 10-2 run, and took a 47-32 halftime lead.

The Cardinal seemed to be off to another rout when Christy Hedgpeth’s back-to-back three-point baskets extended Stanford’s lead in the second half to 61-45. But UCLA’s Detra Lockhart, who had a career-high 26 points, and Amy Jalewalia, who scored 23, took charge.

But the closest UCLA could get the rest of the way was 65-57 with 12:34 left.

“Natalie was good for 30 (points), and maybe 15-20 rebounds,” Olivier said. “But our other players came through. They kept grabbing me and saying ‘Keep believing!’ ”

Said Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer: “It’s hard to see someone as great as Natalie get hurt. She’s a fabulous athlete and we loved to compete against her.”

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USC 99, California 81--Lisa Leslie scored 30 points to lead the sixth-ranked Trojans at Harmon Gym in Berkeley.

USC (20-3, 13-2) used a 15-8 run to take a 57-46 lead at the half. In the second half, the Golden Bears (8-16, 2-12) made only eight baskets and never got closer than nine points.