Friday, January 17, 1997
W. HOOPS:
UCLA, ahead by 20 points at halftime, loses 66-65, bringing
their record to 3-4By A. CinQue Carter
Daily Bruin Contributor
Fighting for respect and recognition, the UCLA women’s
basketball team came into last night’s contest with a respectable
.500 road record at 3-3. Arizona State on the other hand, was just
fighting for their lives. The Sun Devils (7-7, 1-3 Pac 10) came
into the contest as the "other" school in Arizona.
The Bruins (8-6, 2-3) led 36-29 at halftime and came out in the
second half on fire. UCLA extended its lead to 57-37, but then the
tables turned.
ASU, playing in front of a University Activity Center crowd of
512, went on their own rampage and started chipping away at that
20-point deficit. The Bruins let the Sun Devils chip so much away
that they found themselves down 66-65 with five seconds remaining
in the game.
UCLA called time out but stopping the clock only prolonged the
inevitable. The score would not change and the Bruins, who seem to
play better against better teams, found themselves with a sub .500
road record at 3-4 after losing to a team they should have
dominated from start to finish.
"We just got a lapse on the defensive end," UCLA head coach
Kathy Olivier said. "ASU played tough, and our youth showed. We let
them get a few threes and offensive rebounds. They gained momentum
and we never got it back."
While the Sun Devils had four players in double figures, the
Bruins had just one. Maylana Martin scored 30 points for the second
straight contest to go along with her nine rebounds. Martin also
recorded five steals, but had nine turnovers. In fact, UCLA’s
starters combined for an astounding 28 turnovers. The Bruins, as a
whole, turned the ball over 38 times in the game.
On the lighter side of things, UCLA picked ASU’s pockets for a
season high 20 steals. Aisha Veasley tied her career high with six
steals while grabbing six boards. Tawana Grimes contributed six
points and four steals.
Janae Hubbard and Melanie Pearson each scored six points on 100
percent shooting from the field and the line. In addition, Hubbard
grabbed five boards in 11 minutes of play.
Carla Houser and Marie Philman also had productive outings off
the bench, with two points, three boards and one assist and four
points and one rebound respectively.