March 2, 2002
By LANDON HALL
AP Sports Writer
EUGENE, Ore. - Freshman reserve Azella Perryman scored a career-high 17 points as No. 2 Stanford won its 21st straight game Saturday night, routing UCLA 96-61 to reach the semifinals of the inaugural Pac-10 tournament.
The top-seeded Cardinal (29-1) showed they have more than enough talent to compensate for the absence of leading scorer Lindsey Yamasaki, who is sitting out the four-day tournament after having her appendix removed this week.
Freshman Sebnem Kimyacioglu started in Yamasaki's place at one of the forward spots and tied her season high with 14 points, all coming in the first 12 minutes. Conference player of the year Nicole Powell had 15 points and nine assists, and reserve Enjoli Izidor added 12 points - eight above her average.
UCLA (9-20) was led by Gennifer Arranaga's 16 points. The Bruins, who shot 28 percent, lost all three games to Stanford this season, by an average of 28 points.
The Cardinal will play the winner of Saturday night's game between Oregon State and Southern California.
Yamasaki, an All-Pac-10 forward averaging 17.4 points, began feeling ill on Monday and checked into Stanford Hospital the next day. She had the appendectomy Tuesday afternoon. The senior is missing out on playing in her home state one last time, but she made the trip to Eugene and is expected to play in the NCAA tournament.
Kimyacioglu averaged only 6.2 points during the regular season, but she was the focus on the offense from the start of Saturday night's game. She hit her first shot, a 3-pointer, then made a layup. Then she hit another 3, then one more.
UCLA found few open shots against the bigger Cardinal players, missing 17 of its first 22 shots. Stanford, running the floor and passing well with Powell in charge of the offense, led 28-15 before the Bruins ran off seven straight points. The Cardinal then went on a 14-0 run to end the half.
Izidor scored eight points during the stretch, capped by her driving finger roll and foul with three-tenths of a second left. Her free throw made it 44-24.
Stanford built a 27-point cushion before UCLA tried a full-court press, which resulted in a string of turnovers and a 10-0 run for the Bruins. The Cardinal regrouped, however, going on a 22-3 spurt. Lauren St. Clair's 3-pointer with 1:06 left made it 94-58.