Every ball that left Darxia Morris’ hands on Saturday seemed to fall through the net. The sophomore guard was on fire during a four-minute span that lifted the UCLA women’s basketball team (14-4, 5-2 Pac-10) to a 74-66 victory against Washington (5-12, 1-6) at Pauley Pavilion.
Morris, who was held scoreless in the first half, had 10 points after the break. She made one layup and hit four jumpers, including one that found its way to the basket as she was being pushed to the floor.
And her shooting streak came when the Bruins needed it the most.
After Washington closed down on UCLA’s 10-point lead from the first half, the Huskies challenged the Bruins for the majority of the second half.
“We were trading baskets and I was like, “˜We have got to win. I am not going to give up on my team,'” Morris said. “In the first half, I did not come out like I was supposed to. They gave me the ball when I was hot and they were just going in.”
After leading for the entire first period, the Bruins saw their control of the game quickly disappear once both teams came out of the locker room. The Huskies, who shot only 31.1 percent from the field in the first half, started knocking down shots. Washington’s freshman guard Kristi Kingma stepped up to score 16 of her 25 points in the second half.
With Washington up by one, 51-52, with 11 minutes remaining, Morris went to work by hitting her first jumper. The Huskies responded on the next two possessions to go up by three, but Morris responded with a steal and another two points. By the end of Morris’ streak, she had pulled UCLA out of its deficit to go up by two at 61-59. The Bruins held onto their lead for the rest of the game.
Sophomore guard Doreena Campbell helped put the game away by scoring the next three points for UCLA. Despite the close score, Campbell never got tired out from playing 34 minutes of intense basketball.
“In the last few minutes when you have that energy constantly going because we are going back and forth, the energy takes over your fatigue and overcapitalizes,” Campbell said.
Campbell finished with a team-high 20 points. Sophomore forward Christina Nzekwe had her first career double-double with an even 10 points and 10 rebounds.
BRUINS PAY RESPECT TO KAY YOW: This weekend’s game came on a solemn day for women’s basketball. Kay Yow, the coach of North Carolina State’s basketball team, passed away at age 66 on Saturday morning. Yow, who coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1988, had been battling breast cancer for two decades. To pay their respects, the Bruins wore black ribbons on their jerseys during Saturday’s game.
“We wanted to pay our respects to coach Yow, who has meant so much to the women’s game, and not just basketball but women’s athletics,” coach Nikki Caldwell said. “She fought so hard and combated this breast cancer and I think because of who she is, her spirit is going to be passed on. We just want to send our condolences to her family and her team.”