In a pivotal game that may have put the nail in the coffin for UCLA’s season, the women’s basketball team (13-14, 7-8 Pac-10) could not complete a late comeback, falling to the Arizona Wildcats 66-63.
UCLA fell behind late and could not regain the lead in the closing seconds despite a furious effort. After a missed Wildcat free throw with 8 seconds left and down two, senior Noelle Quinn turned the ball over trying to get the ball downcourt to sophomore Chinyere Ibekwe, who would have had an opportunity to tie it up.
The Wildcats (10-18, 4-12 Pac-10) iced the game and maybe the Bruins’ season by hitting a final two free throws with 0.8 seconds left.
“(Noelle) makes great decisions 99 percent of the time,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “Just a bad time for a turnover right there.”
UCLA now probably must win the Pac-10 Tournament for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to have any shot at postseason play.
The Bruins, who tallied a three-point victory at Tempe, Ariz., last month, again had problems containing the Wildcat guards. In their first meeting, Arizona guards posted a combined 44 points and this time around put up a total of 53.
The first half was back and forth as the Wildcats rushed out to an early lead, using their quick guards to slash into the key.
The Bruins cut the Wildcats’ lead to two and trailed 32-30 at halftime. Led by Quinn’s hot shooting in the second half ““ she put up 10 after the break ““ the Bruins were up by as many as five but could not hold off Arizona’s outside shooters.
“Dribble penetration has been a weakness of ours all year,” Olivier said. “We got caught on our heels a little too much.”
The Bruin forwards were somewhat neutralized in the first half as Ibekwe, junior Lindsey Pluimer and senior Amanda Livingston all picked up two first-half fouls. They only played a combined 28 minutes in the first period, as the Bruins were forced to go with smaller lineups.
Sophomore Tierra Henderson, who had started every game up until Thursday, did not play in the first half and was substituted in after two minutes of play in the second period. Senior Shaina Zaidi, who put up seven points and four assists in 25 minutes, replaced her in the starting lineup.
“We were looking to mix up the lineup a little,” Olivier said. “(Tierra) was a very good sport about it.”
The Bruins utilized a press defense late in the game, forcing some turnovers and a key 5-second violation to get the ball back with under a minute to go.
“Our press was good,” Olivier said, “but we don’t have the depth to play it more.”
NOTES: Quinn led all Bruins with 17 points, five assists and was one of three with five rebounds. … The Wildcats shot 62 percent from the floor in the second half and 50 percent on the game. … The UCLA band was all over Arizona guard Malia O’Neal, chanting at her all game. She responded by scoring 12 points with 11 assists and five rebounds. … The Bruins will take on No. 10 Arizona State (24-3, 14-2 Pac-10) on Sunday. They beat the Bruins 92-52 last month in Tucson, Ariz., and USC by 11 points Thursday night. … After Sunday, the Bruins’ schedule does not get any easier. They will travel to the Bay Area next week to take on No. 22 Cal and No. 9 Stanford.