Cardinal put on Pac-12 crown
No. 4 Stanford downs ninth-ranked UCLA in tournament title game
LAS VEGAS >> Kiana Williams scored 26 points to lead No. 4 Stanford to the Pac 12 Tournament championship with a 7555 win over No. 9 UCLA on Sunday night.
Stanford, which has made the Pac-12 title game 18 times in 20 total tournaments, improved to 14-4 in the finals while winning
its third title in five years.
Lexie Hull added 24 points while Haley Jones finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for Stanford (25-2).
Michaela Onyenwere led UCLA (16-5) with 30 points. Charisma Osborne finished with 11 points for the Bruins.
The game was a renewal of one of the more storied rivalries in Pac 12 postseason history, as Stanford has played UCLA more than any other team in the Pac12 Tournament. The Cardinal improved to 11-1 against the Bruins in the event — including four wins in championship meetings.
Stanford controlled things in the first half, with a balanced attack led by Williams and Hull. The Cardinal used runs of 12-5 in the first quarter and 11-3 to start the second quarter to eventually take a 23-point lead into halftime.
Onyenwere was UCLA’s only bright spot in the first half, scoring 13 points. She was 5-for-11 from the floor while the rest of the team was 2-of-15 (.133).
UCLA began to claw its way back into the game after Williams’ 3-pointer gave Stanford its biggest lead, 26, with 9:19 left in the third quarter. Riding the hot hand of Onyenwere, the Bruins went on a 20-6 run to get within 12 just before the end of the third quarter.
Stanford regained its composure and managed to build a 16-point lead midway through the fourth quarter behind a nine-point spurt from Hull, and the Cardinal never looked back.
Williams’ finished the tournament 12 of 18 from 3-point range.