BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - As satisfying as the streak-busting win over No. 1 Connecticut might have been for No. 9 Stanford, the Cardinal knew they needed to follow it up with another victory to make this week just about perfect.
Jeanette Pohlen scored 15 points and Stanford showed few signs of a letdown following one of its biggest wins ever, easily knocking off rival California 78-45 on Sunday.
"We were saying the week's not over yet," Pohlen said. "We've been playing well the past couple of games and we couldn't let up now. We just kept doing what we do and focused on what we want to do offensively and defensively and made the main focus about us."
Nnemkadi Ogwumike added 14 points before leaving with a shoulder injury early in the second half for the Cardinal (10-2, 1-0 Pac-10), who snapped UConn's NCAA record 90-game winning streak with a 71-59 win at Maples Pavilion on Thursday night.
Talia Caldwell and Rama N'Diaye scored 10 points each to lead the Golden Bears (8-4, 0-1), who have lost five straight overall to their Bay Area rivals and 17 of 18 at home.
"If my team can find a was to play hard and decide they want to compete every night we can be good," coach Joanne Boyle said. "Right now we are struggling with an identity and a work ethic that's hurting us."
This victory capped an impressive 12-day run for Stanford. After losing two straight road games to DePaul and Tennessee, the Cardinal have gotten coach Tara VanDerveer her 800th win at San Francisco, blown out No. 4 Xavier by 37 points, snapped Connecticut's record winning streak and beat the Bears.
"I'm really proud of our team coming out with the week we've had people could have been flat and they weren't," VanDerveer said. "That's a credit to the leadership of Jeanette, Kayla (Pedersen) and Nneka and just how competitive they are."
There was little drama in this game as the Cardinal led by double figures for the final 26-plus minutes of the game. The biggest worry in the second half came when Ogwumike was sent crashing to the floor by DeNesha Stallworth after making a basket. The trainers came out to tend to the Stanford star, who went to the bench the rest of the way with a sore right shoulder and a headache. She will be re-evaluated in the next day or two.
Joslyn Tinkle made the foul shot to complete the three-point play, giving the Cardinal a 42-20 lead. Stanford coasted from there to beat Cal in the Pac-10 opener for the second straight season.
The Bears lost at home for the first time in seven games this season and had a nine-game winning streak at Haas Pavilion snapped. But Stanford provided much tougher competition than Cal had seen so far this season.
One game after holding UConn star Maya Moore to 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting, Stanford held Cal leading scorer Stallworth in check as well. Stallworth, who came into the gam averaging 16.7 points, finished with two points on 0-for-2 shooting.
"We can't have a post player take off a night, especially against a good team," Boyle said.
Second leading scorer Layshia Clarendon had six points on 3-for-15 shooting. Cal shot 35 percent overall and was outrebounded 49-26 by the taller and more talented Cardinal.
Toni Kokenis added 12 points for Stanford, and Chiney Ogwumike and Pedersen scored 11 points apiece.
Cal managed to do something even UConn couldn't against Stanford. Clarendon's jumper on the opening possession put the Cardinal behind 2-0 after they never trailed against the Huskies.
That was about all that went well for Cal. Stanford scored the next 11 points and quickly opened up an 11-point lead after missing just one of its first eight shots.
The Cardinal then made just 1 of their next 10 shots before closing the half out with a 15-2 run behind eight points from Nnemkadi Ogwumike to take a 37-18 lead at the break. Cal made just one basket in the final 8:30 minutes of the half.
"We were extremely focused and concentrated just like we had been this past week," Pedersen said. "This was a big game for us coming off of this tough week. No matter who we were playing we wanted to come out strong. Going into the game all of the starters wanted to make a statement from the get-go. I think we did a decent job doing that."