SAN JOSE “”mdash; For three years, they had been the firecracker
that everyone patiently waited to see light up the sky with an
amazing flash, but proved to fizzle out after only a moment.
The Bruins have now validated, for at least this weekend, all of
the lofty expectations and the nervous gyrations that seemed to
plague those who followed them.
No. 3 seed UCLA defeated top-seeded Stanford 85-76 in overtime
to claim the women’s Pac-10 tournament title Monday night in
dramatic fashion.
UCLA came back from a 13-point, second-half deficit to push the
game into overtime after a Noelle Quinn jump shot with 5.8 seconds
left in the game.
The Bruins trailed the Cardinal for the entire contest until
sophomore forward Lindsey Pluimer drained a three-point field goal
at the beginning of overtime to give her club a 73-72 advantage.
After senior guard Lisa Willis fouled out and Quinn had to be taken
out of the game with an injury, the victory was in doubt as the
Cardinal tied the game at 76.
But Quinn re-entered the game and hit a tough shot to put the
Bruins up 78-76 with less than a minute to go and freshman Chinyere
Ibekwe, a 48 percent free throw shooter, hit two free throws to
give the Bruins an 80-76 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Bigger than any one shot, however, the win exorcized the demons
of unlimited potential and diminished results.
“(It was) the greatest win of my career,” said
senior point guard Nikki Blue, who finished with 14 points and
eight assists on the evening.
“I have never won anything in my life until now. Just to
cut down that net, I have dreamed of that. This means the world to
me.”
UCLA (20-10, 12-6 Pac-10) has spent the tenure of Blue, Willis
and Quinn facing criticism for inconsistent play and showboating
that produced more style than substance. With clippings of the
basketball net in her hand, Blue couldn’t help but feel like
her club has finally answered all the questions beyond a doubt.
“Everybody has been saying that UCLA could be a good team,
could be a great team,” Blue said. “We’ve been
climbing up the hill and we’re on top right now.”
Despite featuring three first team All Pac-10 players, the
Bruins had been a bubble team for three consecutive seasons. The
closest they came to national success was a close loss to Minnesota
in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2004, while also
suffering perplexing losses to floundering programs such as UC
Santa Barbara earlier this season.
The sour taste that has lingered in their mouths for all of this
time has made this tournament title all the more sweet.
“Now we have been on both sides,” said Willis, who
had 20 points and six steals in the championship game and was named
the tournament MVP. “Losing the past years makes you enjoy it
a lot more this year.”
In defeating No. 13 Stanford (23-7, 15-3), UCLA claims the
Pac-10’s automatic entrance into the NCAA tournament. Coach
Kathy Olivier will be able to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection
Show in peace Sunday, not worrying about whether or not her team
will be mentioned. Now she just has to worry about what seed and
what location will be bestowed on them.
“It is going to be nice (to watch the Selection
Show),” Olivier said. “We are going to figure out what
we’re going to do. Not to sit there and hope we show up on
the screen, but to know we are going to be on there.”
Stanford standout and two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year Candice
Wiggins led both teams with 23 points, but she was 0-6 from the
field in overtime.
Down by double digits midway through the second half, Blue
gathered her teammates. The senior guard knew they were tired,
playing their third game in as many nights, but the hopes of a
tournament title were not out of reach just yet.
“I told the team that I had a taper in my tummy and I am
hungry, let’s go,” Blue said. “It was
time.”