Not to say the UCLA student body was starved for a victory
against USC, but not even the Donner Party was this hungry.
After four consecutive football losses at the hands of the
Trojans and Wednesday’s deflating defeat in men’s
basketball, the UCLA women’s basketball team enacted a
measure of revenge, defeating USC at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday,
72-64.
“We had everybody coming up to us before the game saying,
“˜We need you guys to win on Sunday. We need one against
‘SC,'” said junior guard Gennifer Arranaga.
“This was a huge win.”
With this, their sixth-straight victory, the Bruins (10-4, 5-0
Pac-10) remain in first place in the conference, one half game
ahead of No. 5 Stanford. USC (6-10, 1-4 Pac-10) is currently ninth
in the conference, and thus far has fallen well short of preseason
expectations.
The Trojans, however, went down fighting on Sunday.
After the Bruins methodically built a 13-point lead midway
through the second half, USC stormed back. With 1:41 to play the
Trojans trailed by just one point at 65-64 when Bruin senior guard
Michelle Greco drove into the lane, was mauled by three USC
defenders, and laid the ball in the hoop for a crucial three-point
play.
“That was a big play in a big game,” said Greco, who
led the Bruins with 28 points on the afternoon. “With the
clock ticking down, I wanted the ball.”
Throughout the waning stages of the contest, Greco never wavered
even as UCLA’s lead slowly dwindled. The senior guard tallied
11 of the squad’s final 12 points and converted all 12 of her
opportunities from the free throw line.
“Greco brings their leadership and their intensity,”
USC forward Rachel Woodward said. “They’re a totally
different team from last year with her in the lineup.”
UCLA struggled on the boards early in the game, as the Trojans
raced to a 19-13 lead, capitalizing on a bevy of second-chance
opportunities. USC out-rebounded the Bruins 43-33 including a 16-9
edge on the offensive glass.
“They got a lot of second-shot attempts, and we tried to
make an adjustment there and make sure we got a body on
somebody,” UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. “We
blocked them out when we needed to in the last eight minutes or so.
That’s an area that we need to improve.”
The Bruins’ vaunted freshman backcourt of Nikki Blue and
Lisa Willis seemed uncharacteristically jittery in the opening
moments of the game. Blue forced a few first-half shots before
finding her rhythm, while Willis made several ill-advised passes
that resulted in turnovers.
With the younger players struggling, UCLA’s veterans
picked up the slack. In addition to Greco, senior point guard
Natalie Nakase played largely error-free basketball while Arranaga
buried two critical first-half three-pointers to spark the Bruins
to a 32-27 halftime lead.
“The beauty of our team this year is that we have a lot of
leadership,” Greco said. “Our upperclassmen know when
it’s a key possession where we really have to
execute.”
UCLA cannot afford to have a letdown after defeating its
crosstown rivals as the squad is entering a crucial stretch of its
schedule. After travelling to the desert next week to face off
against Arizona State and No. 18 Arizona, the Bruins will return
home to face national juggernaut Stanford.
“It’s been a fun five games,” Olivier said.
“Hopefully we can keep it up.”