By: Joe Lami

The Cardinal started their Los Angeles road trip with a win over the UCLA Bruins 79-70 on Friday night. It was a good rebound game after the Cardinal lost their first Pac-12 game of the season earlier in the week against Arizona State.

Both Briana Roberson and Bonnie Samuelson got rare starts in the game, and they used it to their advantage, as they led the way for Stanford with 21 points each. Amber Orrange was right behind them in points with 20 points, as only six of the ten players that saw action got points. Kaylee Johnson was the other key contributor with ten points. Johnson finished with a double double, also earning a career high in rebounds, with 17.

It was an off day for Lili Thompson, as the star guard finished the night 0-for-6 from the field with one point coming from the charity strike.

The Cardinal had to rally back from a three-point first half deficit to earn the seven-point victory. The long distance shooting was extremely valuable for the Cardinal, as they finished the night 42%. UCLA coach, Cori Close, commented on the comeback, “They asserted their aggression in the second half, they knew exactly what they were looking for and were incredibly focused”.

Nirra Fields led all scorers finishing with 22 of UCLA’s points. Jordin Canada also contributed 14. UCLA has struggled against ranked opponents so far this season, as Friday night marks their seventh loss to a Top 25 team this year. They have also lost 14 straight to ranked teams dating back to last season.

Stanford hopes to continue their dominance on Sunday, as they take on the Ladies of Troy of USC.