Monday, November 23, 1998
West Virginia can’t top powerful play at post
W.HOOPS: Despite win, Bruins still struggling with perimeter
defense
By A. CinQue Carter
Daily Bruin Staff
The bumps and bruises did not matter. The bags of ice wrapped
around the sore muscles and limbs did not matter either.
In fact, all that mattered was the Bruin women’s basketball
team’s first official victory since March 13, 1998 in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 14 Bruins (1-2) started two All-America candidates in
the back court yesterday (freshman Michelle Greco and junior Erica
Gomez) en route to a 91-76 win over West Virginia before 1,522 fans
at Pauley Pavilion.
"UCLA just came in here wanting it a little more than we did,"
Mountaineer (1-2) coach Alexis Basil said after the game.
Greco was four-for-eight from the field for a total of 12
points. She grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. Gomez scored
eight points, grabbed six boards and dished out a season-high ten
assists.
Bruin forward Marie Philman had 13 first-half points. "Marie
Philman’s playing consistently for us now," Bruin coach Kathy
Olivier said of the small forward.
The second half could not have turned out better had Olivier
scripted it herself.
Hubbard and forward Maylana Martin put on a show for the ages.
They scored the first 22 Bruin points in a 26-12 UCLA run that
opened the half.
"We said before the game," Olivier said, "that we could beat
them in the post. That’s their weakness and one of our
strengths."
Martin would finish with 23 points, Hubbard with 18 and five
boards. Philman, who started the second half in place of Greco, had
17 points and seven rebounds.
The Bruins’ perimeter defense, however, left something to be
desired. The Mountaineer wings were able to score 56 of their
team’s 76 points.
The leading scorer of the game, Rebecca Burbridge, had a field
day, scoring from behind the arch on her way to 27 points.
This came after Svetlana Arosimova fueled UConn over the Bruins
with 39 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on Tuesday.
"Obviously that’s something we have to get better at," Olivier
said. "Our perimeter defense needs a lot of work."
Conversely, the post continued to produce for the Bruins,
offensively and defensively. Hubbard shot over 50 percent for the
second straight contest and Martin shattered her career high of 12
rebounds by grabbing 18 boards.
West Virginia’s Brandi Batch, Christie Lambert and Maria
Tchobanova were able to produce only nine total points and 12
rebounds. The Bruins also finished with 28 turnovers, two more than
their opponents.
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