No. 2 Stanford goes unbeaten through Pac-10 schedule with 63-48 victory over California

Stanford defeats Cal to finish unbeaten Pac-10 run

BERKELEY, Calif. — Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 22 points and 14 rebounds and No. 2 Stanford completed its first unbeaten run through the Pac-10 schedule since 2002 with a sloppy 63-48 victory over rival California on Saturday.

The Cardinal (28-1, 18-0 Pac-10) played without All-American center Jayne Appel, who was sidelined with a sprained right ankle that requires a walking boot after she got hurt in practice during the week. It’s unclear how long she might be out.

Stanford missed Appel’s presence in the paint and never looked in sync while winning a 19th straight game since the team’s lone loss at top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 23.

Kayla Pedersen added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal, who already secured their 10th straight Pac-10 regular-season title and will be the top seed heading into next weekend’s conference tournament in Los Angeles. Stanford is trying for a third straight trip to the Final Four.

Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 15 points in what might have been her final home game at Haas Pavilion for Cal (17-12, 11-7). The Golden Bears host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games March 20 and 22, but they aren’t close to being a lock to receive a berth. It will come down to the conference tournament.

Joslyn Tinkle’s 3-pointer with 13:33 remaining was the first all game for Stanford after the Cardinal missed their initial eight attempts from long range. Neither team looked particularly sharp in this long-standing Bay Area rivalry.

Stanford has won 35 of the last 38 meetings with the Bears, including 79-58 at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 2.

Gray-Lawson and Ogwumike are the Pac-10’s top two scorers, but Ogwumike ruled in this one. Ogwumike shot 10 for 15, while Gray-Lawson went 4 of 13. She received a rousing standing ovation when she left the game in the waning seconds. DeNesha Stallworth added 12 points and 13 boards for the Bears.

The Cardinal led 26-19 at the break after an underwhelming half by both teams. Stanford missed all six of its 3-point tries and shot 40 percent, to 25.8 percent by Cal — including 1 for 6 from long range. Stanford wound up 2 of 13 on 3-pointers to 1 of 9 by the Bears.

Cal had gone 11-3 in its previous 14 games after losing its first three Pac-10 games but now has dropped two in a row after the Bears had their five-game winning streak snapped in a 57-50 loss at Arizona State last Saturday.

Cal went 6 minutes, 11 seconds without scoring midway through the first half, while Stanford used a 10-0 run during that stretch but couldn’t do enough to pull away.

The Cardinal began the game 2 for 8 with two turnovers in the opening four minutes.

While Cal honored its seniors in a pregame ceremony, the Bears even presented several Cardinal players with roses — including redshirt juniors JJ Hones, Melanie Murphy and Michelle Harrison, raising doubt they will return for a final season on The Farm. Stanford said it had no official word on the matter.