Now that UCLA has taken care of California, the Bruins are ready for their second showdown with Stanford.
Rebekah Gardner scored 16 points, Darxia Morris added 10 and No. 9 UCLA beat Cal 63-48 on Friday night for its seventh straight win.
Next up is a rematch with the third-ranked Cardinal in a game that carries first-place implications in the Pac-10.
''We're very excited,'' Gardner said. ''We just want to handle business on Sunday.''
UCLA successfully aced the tuneup.
Jasmine Dixon had eight points and nine rebounds for the Bruins (22-2, 12-1 Pac-10), who pulled away with a 13-2 run midway through the second half in coasting to their fifth win in a row over the Bears.
UCLA is unbeaten in its last 13 conference games at Pauley Pavilion.
''It was important for the team to know that we have to take every opponent for who they are and not overlook anybody,'' UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell said.
Eliza Pierre scored 12 points while Talia Caldwell and Lindsay Sherbert had 10 apiece for Cal (14-11, 6-8), which lost its fourth in a row.
''I thought we did a really poor job of press breaking, just finishing and getting easy looks,'' Cal coach Joanne Boyle said.
The Bruins carried an eight-point lead out of halftime before more than doubling the advantage as the Bears succumbed to UCLA's defensive pressure.
Morris nailed a 3-pointer, Markel Walker made a layup following a steal and Gardner added a 3 for a quick spurt that resulted in a 50-30 lead with 11:45 left.
With the game well in hand, that allowed UCLA to empty its bench in the final few minutes and rest its starters for Sunday.
Stanford won the first meeting in convincing fashion, 64-38 at home on Jan. 20, handing the Bruins their lone conference loss. A win against the Cardinal would create a tie atop the conference standings.
''We definitely didn't play our best game,'' Gardner said. ''It's a new day, and each team on any day is different. Our goal is to come out and fix what we did wrong in the last game and get a win.''
Caldwell is confident her team is ready to go.
''They need to understand, when you are in this position, you need to rise to the occasion,'' she said.
Cal shot just 31.4 percent for the game. The Bears went 3 of 16 on 3-pointers, missing all five attempts in the opening half.
Cal's leading scorers, DeNesha Stallworth and Layshia Clarendon, entered averaging a combined 28.8 points, but were held to nine on 2-of-20 shooting.
''We had so many opportunities early, but we have to be able to make layups,'' Boyle said. ''I think that caused us to get back on our heels a little bit.''
The Bruins were sloppy early as they turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions. The Bears weren't able to capitalize, leading just 2-0 before trailing the rest of the way.
Christina Nzekwe's jumper to beat the buzzer put the Bruins up 29-21 at halftime.
UCLA wore special pink uniforms to promote breast cancer awareness. Fans were able to bid on the jerseys online, with proceeds going toward research.
