A furious comeback and an ugly incident marked the finish of what is sure to be one of the strangest games in this rivalry’s history.
The Bruins looked to claim Los Angeles as their territory Saturday afternoon at the Galen Center against USC. This time, however, inexperience and the Trojan’s hot shooting were too much to overcome. The Bruins were unable to erase a large early deficit, as USC escaped with a nail-biter win, 64-56.
The end of the game was tarnished by a near fight, which erupted following the Bruins’ final attempt to win with just under three seconds remaining. Down 58-56 and in possession, a 3-point shot from senior Lindsey Pluimer was blocked. The ball ended up in the hands of USC’s Allison Jaskowiak, who flailed her elbows in an attempt to stave off a Pluimer foul. Jaskowiak’s elbow landed a blow on Pluimer’s cheek, emptying the benches of both teams as players rushed the court to separate the teams.
“I think it looked bad how we got tangled up, and my teammates came in to help, and that’s what happened,” said Pluimer, who led the Bruins with 15 points.
After a lengthy delay during which officials consulted the courtside television monitor, four players were ejected. Bruins Moniquee Alexander, Candice Brown and the injured Darxia Morris were tossed, as was USC’s Jacki Gemelos.
With additional free throws awarded to USC, Jaskowiak iced the contest, clinching the Trojans’ sixth straight win over the Bruins.
“Hopefully that is not our focus. The reality is ‘SC had a very good game plan, (and) we were out of sync in the first half,” coach Kathy Olivier said.
The Bruins failed to shut down USC’s perimeter-oriented offense, which came out on fire, hitting four 3s in the first half en route to a 33-16 halftime lead.
Aided by UCLA’s 14 first half turnovers, the USC defense clamped down hard on the UCLA attack. The Bruins did not score their 10th point until 4:02 left in the first half.
“In the first half we were just standing around,” Plumier said. “We weren’t moving as much.”
The final 10-minute stretch of the game was a different story for the Bruins, who cut into the deficit with the help of two key 3-pointers by Pluimer and increased pressure defense.
Chinyere Ibekwe missed an open shot with 15.2 seconds left, USC’s Nadia Parker converted the front end of the ensuing one-and-one before missing the second, giving UCLA an opportunity to tie the game in the final 10 seconds.
In the end, however, it was too little too late.
The Bruins struggled to convert opportunities from the free-throw line, and when Pluimer’s closing shot was tipped, the comeback was dashed.
“Free throws is something we’ve worked on all year, and, on the road in the Pac-10, you have to make your free throws,” Olivier said. “We showed a lot of guts coming back.”
USC point guard Camille LeNoir guided the Trojans with savvy play, breaking down the Bruin defense with smart passes and chipping in 12 points. Heather Oliver led the Trojans with 15 points.
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Bruins, who entered the game with confidence after a road sweep of the Washington schools. With the loss to USC, the Bruins fell to sixth place in the Pac-10.
“We had a very rough part of our Pac-10 schedule,” Olivier said. “I’m just glad we’re going home.”
As of Sunday night, the indication was that none of the players would receive suspensions for the incident. This is uplifting news for the Bruins, who hope to regain the services of point guard Morris, who sat out the last three games with a sprained knee.