Coming off a 40-point embarrassment on Thursday and four losses in their past five games, Noelle Quinn and Lindsey Pluimer had had enough of the losing and took Saturday’s game at Arizona into their own hands.
Quinn, a senior guard, and Pluimer, a junior forward, each put up 23 points in women’s basketball’s 76-73 win, holding off a Wildcat comeback in the final minutes to finish the first half of the Pac-10 season.
Arizona (7-14, 1-8 Pac-10) surprised the Bruins (10-11, 4-5 Pac-10) in the first half, playing them close and jumping to a three-point lead with only 2:34 left in the half.
However, the Bruins didn’t wait until the second half to start their own comeback, scoring 10 straight to take a 34-27 lead at halftime.
“I thought both teams were very hungry and looking for a W,” UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said in a press conference. “The end of the first half we had a 10-0 run, and that was huge for us. It was a big confidence-builder. Arizona never laid down. They kept plugging away and they kept coming after us.”
In the second half, the Bruins seemed to have an answer for every Arizona run but could not quite put the game out of reach.
“This was a tough one to lose,” Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini said in a press conference. “We worked hard but we played in spurts. When we are focused we play really well, and when we lose focus, which we did in the last few minutes of the first half, that puts us down in a hole.”
In the second half, the Wildcats fed off 6-12 shooting from beyond the arc to close the gap late in the game. Despite leading by 13 with only 4:30 to go, the Wildcats went on a 17-5 run and the Bruins were left clinging to a 69-68 lead with just 1:20 left. The Wildcats shot 44 percent in the second half compared to 28 percent before the break.
“It was a little strange,” Olivier said. “Arizona didn’t shoot well in the first half. They got offensive boards and they got more looks than us. To their credit, they kept plugging away and down the stretch they shot better.”
Pluimer and Quinn knocked down their free throws in the final seconds to put the nail in the coffin for the Wildcats. Pluimer finished the game 8-9 from the charity stripe.
“She came up huge,” Olivier said. “If it isn’t Noelle then it’s Pluimer. She missed her first couple of shots but she came back. For her to get to the free throw line is always big because she is very productive from there.”
Quinn had another career game, only two rebounds short of a triple-double after posting 10 assists and 23 points.
“Two previous times I have been one rebound away,” Quinn said in a press conference. “I was almost there, but we got the win so I could care less about stats.”
Freshman center Moniquee Alexander also had a productive day, contributing a career-high 10 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
GAME NOTES: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who was in attendance, praised the Wildcat coaching staff after the game.
“I’m not (a coach), but the coaches here at the University of Arizona do a phenomenal job when working with the students and the players,” she said in a press conference.
“It’s about the game, but it’s also about the education.”