WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : Stanford, Rated 10th, Is Upset by UCLA

UCLA’s women’s basketball team overcame a rash of late turnovers and upset 10th-ranked Stanford on Friday night, 80-73, at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins held Stanford to single digits for the first 11 minutes, maintained large leads for most of the second half, then stumbled home to victory in a whirlwind of turnovers and free throws.

The victory, before 1,283, boosted the Bruins to 9-7 overall, 4-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference. Stanford dropped to 11-4 and 4-2.

The victory also ended a 10-game UCLA losing streak to Stanford, winner of the last five Pac-10 championships and two NCAA titles since 1990.

Senior Bruin forward Amy Jalewalia scored nine of her 21 points in the final eight minutes. Natalie Williams led UCLA with 24 points and 16 rebounds.

Williams and Detra Lockhart sank five free throws in the final 26 seconds after Stanford had pulled to 75-73 with 30 seconds to play.

Stanford had shot 51% from three-point range in its previous three games, and had 12 three-pointers against California last weekend. But the Cardinal was only three for 12 from long range Friday.

“Our defense was huge,” Bruin Coach Kathy Olivier said.

“We told our players they could all shoot the three, so we just couldn’t let them take those shots.

“When we held them scoreless the first five minutes (actually 4:41), that was a big boost for us.”

Said Cardinal Coach Tara VanDerveer: “They did a good job of extending their defense on us. . . . They denied us the ball high and contested every shot. No matter what we did offensively, we couldn’t get anyone open.”

Stanford’s Rachel Hemmer led the Cardinal with 21 points, mostly on baseline drives and tips.

Williams, who now has had double figures in points and rebounds in 34 of her last 39 games, had the first four points of the game as UCLA took a 13-2 lead. The Bruins had a 40-30 halftime lead and five times had leads of at least 13 points in the second half.

Then they began coming apart.

UCLA had 24 turnovers for the game, but nine of them came in the last eight minutes. Luckily for the Bruins, Stanford had difficulty finding good shots in the stretch, and UCLA wasn’t missing free throws.

UCLA will play host to California at noon Sunday. Stanford will play at USC Sunday at 1 p.m.