Lexie Hull scores 28, No. 7 Stanford beats No. 8 UCLA 67-51

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Lexie Hull had 28 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 7 Stanford to a 67-51 win over No. 8 UCLA on Saturday night in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.

The third-seeded Cardinal (27-5) will meet No. 1 seed Oregon in the championship for a third straight year, and fourth time in five years. Stanford beat the Ducks in last year’s title game, 64-57. Oregon beat the Cardinal in the 2018 championship, 77-57.

Kiana Williams added 12 points for the Cardinal, while Francesca Belibi contributed eight points and seven rebounds.

Stanford, which ranked second in the Pac 12 with 74.3 points per contest, ranked fifth in the conference in giving up a mere 59.63. The Cardinal’s 14.67 scoring margin was second in the league. And where the Cardinal thrived was limiting its opposition in getting high-percentage shots throughout the campaign, which resulted in it ranking No. 1 with its field-goal percentage defense (35.0%).

All of which is why it came as no surprise the Cardinal shut down UCLA’s potent offense.

The Bruins (26-5) were stymied after holding a 15-13 lead after the first quarter. UCLA managed just 16 points in the second and third quarters combined, while Stanford took over.

Michaela Onyenwere, Japreece Dean and Charisma Osborne each had 14 points for the Bruins.

The Cardinal improved to 47-0 when holding its opponent under 70 points at the Pac-12 Tournament.

Stanford closed the door with a 16-0 run in the second half, and eventually took a 50-31 lead into the fourth quarter and cruised to its 17th Pac 12 championship game. The Cardinal is now 47-5 all-time at the event – 17-1 in the semifinal round – and has won 13 of the 18 titles.

BIG PICTURE

Stanford: The Cardinal opened a 50-31 lead after three quarters by way of field goals only. Stanford didn’t attempt its first free throw until the 2:16 mark of the fourth quarter.

UCLA: Onyenwere’s offense was non-existent in the third quarter, which took away from UCLA’s offense and allowed the Cardinal to gradually distance itself. After scoring 8 in the first half, Onyenwere scored 2 points in the third quarter.

UP NEXT

Stanford: Will face Oregon in the Pac 12 championship on Sunday night.

UCLA: Awaits its NCAA Tournament bid.

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