It’s a pivotal top-10 matchup in the Pac-12 as No. 7 UCLA ventures north along the California coast to take on No. 4 Stanford on Sunday afternoon.
After beginning the year a crisp 14-0, the rigors of conference play have at last caught up to the Bruins. UCLA recently suffered three losses in a five game stretch, including an 85-82 upset against Washington State last Sunday.
To make matters worse, 6-7 center Lauren Betts — the Bruins’ leading scorer at 15.4 points per game — was sidelined for an undisclosed medical reason. Betts is a stout rim protector and also averages a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game.
Should Betts continue to miss time, UCLA will rely more on its dynamic backcourt of sophomore Kiki Rice and senior Charisma Osborne, the team’s second- and third-leading scorers, respectively.
Betts’s presence is of the utmost importance against a team like Stanford, which boasts two of the nation’s top interior players. Preseason All-American Cameron Brink, a 6-4 forward, and 6-3 Kiki Iriafen are both averaging double-doubles on the season.
After missing a game on Jan. 21 with an injury, Brink returned and promptly averaged 22.5 points and 18 rebounds across her next two contests.
Led by Brink and Iriafen, the Cardinal are a…
