UCLA stuns top seed Stanford to reach championship game of Pac-12 tournament

Another leader in the Pac-12 tournament has fallen.

UCLA stunned top seed Stanford 69-65 in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament Friday night. The Bruins will now face either Washington State or Colorado in Sunday’s championship game in Las Vegas.

The loss followed Washington State’s shocking excitement against Utah on Thursday night, which likely ended the Utes’ quest for a No. 1 spot in the NCAA tournament.

Stanford led for most of the game, holding a 16-point lead at its peak just before halftime. However, the Bruins opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run and then kept Stanford scoreless for more than three minutes to take their first lead from a Kiki Rice jumper in the opening seconds of the game.

Though the Cardinal made two layups and two free throws in the final two minutes of the game, Rice and Charisma Osborne combined nine points in that stretch to seal the four-point win.

Rice led with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists for UCLA. Emily Bessoir finished the tournament with 14 points and six rebounds, Osborne added 13 points.

Cameron Brink lost 19 points and had 11 rebounds for Stanford in the loss, and Haley Jones finished the tournament with 15 points and 10 rebounds. They were the only two to score double digits for the Cardinal, who as a team shot just 4-of-11 from behind the bow. Despite the loss per ESPN’s Charlie CreamStanford is still on its way to becoming a No. 1 in the NCAA tournament.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.