On Thursday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated UCLA 76-48 on the road at Pauley Pavilion. Stanford junior forward Francesca Belibi (20 points & 13 rebounds), sophomore forward Cameron Brink (17 points, 8 rebounds, & 2 blocks), and senior guard Lexie Hull (14 points, 10 rebounds, & 5 assists) led the way for the Cardinal. UCLA junior guard Charisma Osborne was the top performer for UCLA with 12 points, having missed the past couple of games due to a knee injury. Stanford improves to 17-3 overall and 8-0 in the Pac-12 while UCLA falls to 9-8 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12.

Early on, the game was tight as UCLA led 9-8 with 3:49 to go in the 1st quarter. Francesca Belibi, who was inserted into the starting lineup with junior guard Haley Jones out, was up to 4 points for Stanford with two buckets inside. Lexie Hull and Cameron Brink each had a bucket of their own as well. Graduate student guard Natalie Chou was leading UCLA with 3 points, converting a nice 3-point play.

At the end of the 1st quarter, Stanford led 22-14. Lexie Hull was really catching fire with 11 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and 3-3 shooting from 3-point range. As for Belibi, she was up to 6 points and 4 rebounds, doing a nice job of filling in for Jones.

With 4:14 to go in the 2nd quarter, Stanford led 32-20 as they were shooting 6-12 from 3-point range. Freshman forward Brooke Demetre got on the board with a triple, adding to the 3-point fest. It was looking like danger time for UCLA.

Stanford would extend their lead further to go up 38-21 with 2:57 to go in the half. Stanford was moving the ball exceptionally well with 11 assists on 15 made field goals. Five different players had made a 3-pointer.

At halftime, Stanford led 40-24. Lexie Hull’s 14 points was leading the way. So far, the Cardinal appeared to be on cruise control. UCLA really needed to find a way to defend the perimeter better in the second half.

Stanford opened up the 3rd quarter strongly, leading 50-33 with 4:37 to go in the quarter. Stanford now appeared to have a real firm grip as UCLA wasn't making much of a push to get back in the game. Stanford would finish the quarter strong to go up 57-33. Francesca Belibi and Lexie Hull each had 14 points. Stanford was certain to walk out with an easy win at this point.

Stanford would lead 69-37 with 6:07 to go as Cameron Brink joined the 3-point party from the corner for the second straight game off a nice assist from Anna Wilson. The bench erupted in jubilation, serving as a nice exclamation mark on the night. Belibi (18 points & 12 rebounds), Brink (15 points & 7 rebounds), and Hull (14 points & 10 rebounds) were all in the zone.

In the end, Stanford walked out with a 76-48 victory. Stanford pretty much dominated this game wire to wire, not giving UCLA much hope. What makes this win impressive for Stanford is they were without Haley Jones and Hannah Jump and yet others were still able to step up. They moved the ball really well with 20 assists and only had 8 turnovers. Just an all-around beautiful night for the Cardinal.

Up next for Stanford will be a road game at USC on Sunday. That game will tip-off at 3:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.

Note: Hannah Jump (COVID protocols) is back with the team but did not play.

To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Twitter, click here.

To connect with Ben Parker, click here.