LOS ANGELES – Gennifer Brandon scored 16 points to lead a balanced offense as No. 6 Cal beat No. 15 UCLA 79-51 Friday night, handing the Bruins their first home conference loss of the season.
Brittany Boyd and Layshia Clarendon had 14 points each and Reshanda Gray added 10 to lead the Bears (22-2, 12-1 Pacific-12 Conference) to their 10th consecutive win.
"It sends a message to everybody," Boyd said before adding that she and her teammates are not looking past their next game Sunday against USC.
"I would say it sends a message to USC. We came to L.A. to play," Boyd said.
Atonye Nyingifa scored 20 points for UCLA (19-5, 10-3), which had won six straight since a Jan. 20 loss at Cal.
Cal hasn't lost since a Jan. 8 defeat to No. 4 Stanford.
The Bears built a 19-point lead in the first half and led by 18 at the break.
UCLA made an early run in the second half in an effort to cut into Cal's halftime lead. Nirra Fields made a steal and dribbled the length of the court to score and pull the Bruins to 47-36 with 13:57 remaining. But they could get no closer the rest of the way.
UCLA shot just 34 percent (19 for 56) from the field.
The Bruins started slowly, missing their first five field-goal attempts and allowing Cal to jump out to an 11-6 lead after a basket by Clarendon, her only two points of the first half.
UCLA shot only 29 percent (9 for 31) in the first half.
No. 4 Stanford 79, USC 55 in Los Angeles – Chiney Ogwumike had 26 points and 15 rebounds for her record-setting 20th double double of the season, and the Cardinal extended its winning streak over the Trojans to 12 games.
The win kept the Cardinal (23-2, 12-1 Pac-12) tied with Cal for first place.
Alexyz Vaioletama scored 14 points and Cassie Harberts 13 for the Trojans (8-16, 5-8), who have dropped five in a row.
Men
No. 15 Georgetown 62, Cincinnati 55 in Cincinnati – Otto Porter Jr. scored 16 points while playing in foul trouble, and the Hoyas wasted a 12-point lead in the second half before rallying for their seventh straight win.
Markel Starks made a go-ahead three-pointer with 5:35 left and made five free throws in final minute, helping the Hoyas (19-4, 9-3) stay atop the Big East Conference.
Cincinnati (19-7, 7-6), which shot only 31.5 percent from the field and went 4 of 24 behind the arc, has lost three of its last four games.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Associated Press
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.