As Michelle Greco lay awake Friday night, envisioning how her
final collegiate home game would unfold, not even she could have
pictured an ending this perfect.
The fifth-year senior capped UCLA’s 13-point second-half
comeback by burying a contested 12-footer with 6.2 seconds left,
giving the Bruins a tense 56-54 victory over Oregon on Saturday
afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.
“I couldn’t have drawn it up any better,” said
Greco, who finished with a game-high 18 points. “I had the
ball in my hands with the clock ticking down, and I knew that my
shot could win the game. It was a storybook ending to my career at
Pauley.”
Greco’s game-winner could not have been more crucial for
the Bruins (17-10, 12-6 Pac-10), whose hopes for an at-large bid to
the NCAA tournament would have been dashed with a loss to the Ducks
(12-15, 8-10 Pac-10). Nevertheless, UCLA will likely need to win at
least one more game to make the field of 64, and that contest will
be a rematch with this same Oregon squad in the quarterfinals of
the Pac-10 tournament on Saturday.
“Oregon’s playing well right now,” UCLA head
coach Kathy Olivier said. “I thought we were a little bit off
tonight, but I don’t think we will be that way next weekend.
We just have to make sure our perimeter defense stays active, and
that we don’t give them a lot of easy looks
inside.”
It was the Bruins’ defensive pressure that sparked the
comeback effort in the latter stages of Saturday’s game.
Trailing 39-26 with 15 minutes remaining in the game, UCLA
employed its trademark full-court pressure and methodically chipped
away at the Oregon lead. Instead of exploiting their numbers
advantage, the Ducks became tentative once they crossed midcourt
and failed to get the ball into the paint where they had done the
most damage throughout the game.
Center Andrea Bills was a non-factor down the stretch, tallying
just three of her team-high 15 points in the game’s final 15
minutes.
“We played passively against their press in the final 11
minutes,” Oregon head coach Bev Smith said. “Instead of
putting our shoulders down and attacking, we just played right into
their hands.”
Jamila Veasley led the defensive charge for the Bruins, holding
Oregon’s leading scorer, 6-foot-4 Cathrine Kraayeveld, to
just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting.
But Veasley’s biggest contribution may have come at the
offensive end. With the Ducks leading 49-44, she shocked everyone
by stepping back and drilling a three-pointer from the right
wing.
“My defensive player was helping out on Greco throughout
the whole game, so I was open,” said Veasley, who scored 11
points. “It was a good shot. I didn’t just throw it up
there.”
It was Veasley’s first ““ and probably her last
““ three-point attempt of the season, and it ignited a 12-5
UCLA run that culminated in Greco’s game-winner.
The victory was the Bruins’ fifth in six games and makes
winning the rematch with Oregon absolutely critical to securing a
NCAA bid.
“I think it’s very important for us to win at least
one game in the conference tournament,” Olivier said.
“We feel like 18 wins would be a good number. The selection
committee should take four teams from the Pac-10, and hopefully,
that fourth team will be us.”
Ңbull;Ӣbull;Ӣbull;
Oregon’s Kayla Steen sustained a severe knee injury when
her left knee buckled as she went up for a layup in the waning
moments of Saturday’s game. Steen was carried off the court
by her teammates and is believed to have sustained season-ending
ligament damage.