STANFORD, Calif. – Kayla Pedersen had 18 points and 10 rebounds and No. 4 Stanford ran its home winning streak at Maples Pavilion to 55 games with a surprisingly lopsided 64-38 victory over eighth-ranked UCLA on Thursday night.
Jeanette Pohlen added 14 points and Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 13 in Stanford's ninth straight victory overall and 11th in 12 against the Bruins (15-2, 5-1 Pac-10), who were held to a season low in points. Their previous low had been 53 in a two-point loss to Louisiana State on Dec. 28.
Jasmine Dixon scored 12 to lead cold-shooting UCLA, which had its five-game winning streak snapped along with a run of 13 in a row in regular-season Pac-10 play dating to last season.
Stanford (15-2, 6-0) won its 43rd straight against conference competition and hasn't lost to a Pac-10 opponent since falling in a 57-54 thriller at No. 11 and rival California while ranked ninth on Jan. 18, 2009.
Stanford is unbeaten since dropping consecutive road games last month at DePaul and Tennessee. The Cardinal have looked dominant ever since, starting with a rout of Xavier on Dec. 28 and then their commanding 71-59 victory over then top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 30 that snapped the two-time defending champion Huskies' record 90-game winning streak.
The Cardinal faced constant full-court pressure early from the Bruins and coach Tara VanDerveer substituted regularly. But Stanford — picked to win its 11th consecutive regular-season Pac-10 crown — easily handled the pressure with its athleticism and size.
The Bruins were outrebounded 44-27, committed 17 turnovers and hardly looked like the team that knocked off now-No. 11 Notre Dame in double overtime on the road in November under third-year coach Nikki Caldwell. Stanford used big runs on either side of halftime to turn the game into a blowout.
This marked UCLA's first time as a top 10 team facing another foe in the top 10 since Dec. 23, 1999, when the No. 6 Bruins played at top-ranked UConn. This also was the first Pac-10 game between a pair of top 10 teams since sixth-ranked Stanford beat No. 3 California 58-41 at Maples on Feb. 14, 2009.
UCLA, in the top 10 for the first time since January 2000, missed its first six field-goal tries before Markel Walker connected on a jumper at the 15:15 mark of the first half. The Bruins began 2 for 14 to fall behind 15-4 midway through the half. Stanford used a 10-2 run over the final 4:37 of the first half for a 32-15 lead at the break, then came out of the locker room with a 14-2 burst.
The Bruins will likely fall in the rankings next week after this showing. UCLA, off to the program's best start since beginning the 1976-77 season at 18-1, still must play at California in Berkeley on Saturday.
UCLA's conference start was its best since winning the program's first six Pac-10 games in 2002-03.
The Bruins lost for the first time this season away from Pauley Pavilion. They were 8-0 outside Los Angeles, 6-0 in true road games and 2-0 at neutral sites. Stanford visits Pauley for the second meeting of the season Feb. 20.
UCLA missed all five of its 3-pointers in the first half and was 2 for 9 overall from long range.
Experienced Stanford senior guard Melanie Murphy checked in for the first time all season with 6:03 left in the first half. She had been sidelined while recovering from microfracture knee surgery. She played seven minutes in all, but limited time was all VanDerveer expected in Murphy's first game back.
Stanford debuted the home version of its new uniform with a faded silkscreen 'S' and also featuring campus landmarks on the back. It was designed by associate head coach Amy Tucker.
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