STANFORD >> Like a true pro, Stanford University All-American Haley Jones zoned out all of the distractions while on the basketball court Monday.

The 6-foot-2 guard played in her final home basketball game of the regular season and helped the No. 3 ranked Cardinal women rally past No. 17 UCLA 71-66 on senior night.

Jones, a Santa Cruz native, finished with 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, as the Cardinal (26-3, 14-2) remained atop the Pac-12 Conference standings in front a nationally televised audience.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance were among the 5,813 fans who nearly filled Maples Pavilion to the rafters, as the “Funky Four” — the Cardinal’s heralded signing class in 2019 — was celebrated.

“I love every game we win,” Jones said. “Senior night just makes it extra special. Closing it out with the ‘Funky Four,’ I couldn’t imagine it any other way.”

Jones, and fellow seniors Fran Belibi, Ashten Prechtel and Hannah Jump make up a recruiting class that legendary Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer dubbed the “Fab Four” four years ago. The quartet was later duped by associate coach Kate Paye into naming themselves when they were freshmen, and a new moniker was born.

Jones said she didn’t allow herself to get emotional until the final buzzer sounded, and victory was in hand Monday. Her jump shot from the top of the key with 2:40 remaining gave the Cardinal the lead for good.

“That was stressful,” Jones’ mother, Monique, told friends, once victory was finalized.

It was an emotional night for all involved, including VanDerveer.

The kids, they just grow up so darn quick. “Too fast,” VanDerveer said. “Way too fast.”

Proof of that sits on the head coach’s desk. It’s a photo of her and Jones when Jones was an 8-year-old at Stanford’s basketball camp.

Nearly a decade later, VanDerveer was receiving a massage when she got a call from Jones committing to Stanford. “I was like, ‘Yes!’ Because she’s a great player and I knew we’d have great teams.”

With Jones, the Cardinal won back-to-back Pac-12 and conference tournament titles the past two seasons. They won the NCAA Tournament title in 2021 and reached the Final Four last season.

Jones, an Archbishop Mitty High alumna who was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in ’21, is projected as a top-five pick in the WNBA Draft on April 10.

In her old stomping grounds, Jones, who had parade held in her honor in ’21, has earned legend status. She’s a role model for youngsters, regardless of race, gender or sport played. Current Mitty junior basketball player Kai Grouleau said earlier this season that he transferred from San Lorenzo Valley to Mitty, in part, because of the path Jones blazed there.

Dozens of Jones’ supporters — in the neighborhood of 100 — showed up to Maples wearing black, Nike-sponsored sweatshirts and T-shirts. Across the front, “STANFORD” was emblazoned in bold letters. Across the back, it read “JONES.” And her jersey number “30” was on both sides.

“That was a great surprise,” Jones said, “but we had to approach it like every game. Because I think if you approach it any other way — Final Four, championship game, senior night — if you approach it differently, you get caught up in that side if it. I wouldn’t want to lose on senior night because then I wouldn’t want to celebrate anything. So, the win is great.”

Fans also brought oversized head shots of Jones, and posters declaring their love for her.

“I’m so happy for her,” said family friend Patricia Rodriguez of Prunedale, who attended the game with her husband, son and son’s girlfriend. “My nieces, everybody wants to meet her. They want to be like her. We’re just so proud that she’s going this far.”

Fans and family not only made the trek from Santa Cruz and surrounding cities, but her brother, Cam, flew in from Colorado, where he coached basketball at Colorado College, and she had other friends and family members come from Arizona, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

For Jones’ parents, it was yet another game. They’ve seen every home game, plenty of road games, too, outside of the pandemic season. Even then, when a handful of games were held at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, they watched games on TV, and drove down to the arena when it was over to give their daughter a hug and high-fives before she boarded the team bus back to campus.

Her parents, both of whom coached basketball at Santa Cruz High from 1997-2014, never envisioned their daughter having the success she has enjoyed.

“I tell all my friends, she’s living all of our basketball fantasies, right,” said Pat, her father. “It’s just fun being along for the ride.”

While Jones’ parents were coaching, she also lived in the gymnasium. She took part in drills and later filled in on summer league teams when she was in sixth grade, despite being significantly younger than the players.

“That’s something that she says, “Don’t be afraid to be the worst player on your team,’ ” Pat said.

By the end of her high school career, she received All-American as well as state and national player of the year honors by multiple organizations. She won a gold with the Team USA at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Minsk, Belarus, in 2018, as well as at the AmeriCup in June ’21.

She’s not done. Before signing with the WNBA, she hopes to have another national championship on her résumé.

“Hopefully she’s done our community proud, because as parents, she’s done us extremely proud,” Jones’ mother said. “We’re happy for Haley. Very.”