By: Joe Lami
Sunday was an eventful day for the number five team in the country, as the Stanford Cardinal (26-2,15-1) defeated the UCLA Bruins (12-16,6-10) 65-56. The win means that Stanford has officially clinched their 14th straight conference title and the number one seed in the Pac-12 tournament to be held in Seattle early next month.
Stanford hopes to continue its’ success in Seattle, as they will be going for their 12th straight Pac-12 championship. Stanford is a shoe-in for the NCAA tournament, but hopes to win out to keep its’ hopes alive for a number one seed in the West Region, which will be held at Maples Pavilion this year.
Once again, the Cardinal had a poor start to the game. They fell behind early, being down as much as five points multiple times in the first half. However, with one minute remaining in the first half Stanford was able to catch up and take the 27-25 lead. They wouldn’t give it up the rest of the game.
Stanford has been starting slow of late, but they have been able to comeback each and every time giving them adversity going late into the season.
Chiney Ogwumike led the Cardinal in scoring once again with 26 points. The 26 points has brought her career point total to 2,511 putting her in second place on all-time Cardinal scoring list, as she surpassed her sister older sister, Nnemaki. Chiney is now just 118 points away from tying Stanford’s all-time leading scorer, Candice Wiggins. Ogwumike is going down in Cardinal history, as she is the all-time leading field goal percentage leader, as well as the Pac-12 all-time leading rebounder. She added 15 more rebounds to her total in the win over the Bruins.
There were other players on the court besides Ogwumike, one of them being Amber Orrange, as she was the Cardinal’s second leading scorer on Sunday. She contributed 14 points. The Junior Point Guard also had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 37 minutes played. Mikaela Ruef came off of the bench for the first time this season to bring down 11 rebounds.
Nirra Fields was strong once again for the Bruins as she notched 24 points. Thea Lemberger was the other Bruin that got into double digit scoring, as she put up 14 points.
The Cardinal officially end their Pac-12 regular season next weekend, as they host the two schools from Washington. They look to get their revenge on Thursday, as they host the Huskies, who upset them earlier this month in Seattle by the score of 87-82. On Saturday, Chiney Ogwumike will end her regular season career with Stanford, as they host Washington State in the final game of the year.
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