For the No. 8 Stanford women?s basketball team, yesterday brought both the end of one era and the start of another. After 17 straight wins, the Cardinal women were upset, 72-57, by No. 21 California, which broke its own streak of 14-straight losses to Stanford for the beginning of a “real” Bay-Area rivalry.

"When people talk about a rivalry, you've got to win some of them," said Golden Bears head coach Joanne Boyle, who called the game the biggest win in our program's history.?

For the Cardinal, though, it was nearly the complete opposite.

A 26.6 field goal percentage was the worst in school history, as Stanford (18-4, 11-1 Pacific-10 Conference) went 9-for-30 and 8-for-34 in the first and second halves, respectively. Cal (17-5, 8-4) shot 46.0 percent from the field overall, and went a devastating 58.8 percent in the second half compared to the Cardinal's 23.5 percent. Needless to say, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer was ?disappointed that [Stanford] didn't battle more.

Junior guard Candice Wiggins, who had a team-high 17 points for the day, was similarly upset.

"It was ourselves, I feel; we definitely had control, and it was our game to lose," Wiggins said.

Problems started early on with a three-point attempt by freshman guard JJ Hones. Coming into her jump-stop slightly off-balance, Hones was on the floor and had to be carried off the court just 39 seconds into the game. VanDerveer fears that Hones may have torn her ACL, discouraging for the game and the rest of the season.

"It was really upsetting to our team to see JJ go down," VanDerveer said. "But that happens, and we have to play through an injury like that."

Stanford did, with Wiggins taking over point guard, but the Cardinal went on to show an uncharacteristic lack of energy, especially against a fellow top-25 team. VanDerveer called her team "glazy." A rough awakening was to come, though, when an 8-0 run near the middle of the half gave Cal its first lead of the game, 13-17. Barely hanging on through most of the rest of the half, it wasn't until 29 seconds were left on the clock that sophomore guard Jillian Harmon sunk a three-pointer to give Stanford a narrow 31-30 lead going into halftime.

"We didn't battle, we didn't come out aggressive and we weren?t talking," VanDerveer said.

The Golden Bears, on the other hand, came with a vengeance after a difficult 69-44 loss at Berkeley, Jan. 6. And in the second half, the Golden Bears retook the lead, 43-42, at 12:57.

When senior center Brooke Smith countered with a jumper at 12:29, Cal's Devanei Hampton rescinded the Stanford lead for the last time with a jumper of her own. The Golden Bears went on to extend their lead to as much as nine points in the next 10 minutes.

All of the Golden Bears contributed, just as Boyle had hoped for. Guards Natasha Vital and Lauren Grief each stepped up with 19 and 15 points, respectively. They also had six rebounds each.

Although sophomore forward Ashley Walker, Cal's usual team leader, was having an ice-cold night with only six points, her fellow powerful post,sophomore Hampton, was having one of her best games yet. Hampton had her fourth double-double of the season with 22 points and 14 rebounds, 12 of which were off the Cardinal boards.

"They have great post players, like Devanei," Smith said. "They're very tough, hard to get around and a great challenge for us."

Working from the outside then, Stanford still had trouble getting through the hoop. Watching the win and its 17-game streak slip away, the Cardinal panicked, shooting threes. The team went 0-for-16 on the shot in the second half, though, keeping Cal's lead safe from any last-minute runs.

Stanford scrambled in the last two minutes, attempting to extend the game with fouls. The plan backfired, with the Golden Bears garnering 12 of their 14 last points from the free-throw line. The Cardinal remained scoreless for the last 1:07, and when the buzzer sounded, Cal celebrated its victory center court at Maples.

"A spectator out there would've thought, "That's some great basketball.' and that's what we want to continue to build at Cal," Boyle said.

Stanford, though, with its streak broken and confidence shaken by the idea of the first Cal loss in nearly six years, let alone its worst-ever shooting percentage, is looking to rebuild in the coming days.

"This type of game will be good for us; we need this type of battle in our conference," VanDerveer said. "We're just trying to look forward and say this'll help us in the tournament."

Unsure of Hones' health after yesterday’s game, the Cardinal will have to readjust in the coming weeks. VanDerveer said she'll continue with Wiggins at the point guard position, or she may try senior Markisha Coleman or freshman Melanie Murphy. Wiggins said she is ready for whatever comes.

"I know I'll have the ball in my hands a lot more now, she said. "I'm just going to try to keep everyone poised, settle up the score and do what I do. We?re going to work through this as a team."