Sunday was deja vu all over again for UCLA.
As on Thursday, they played a top-10 team on the road in the Bay Area.
Once again, they played solid defense in the first half and spent most of the first 20 minutes in the lead.
Once again, they largely fell apart in the second 20.
Once again they were out-rebounded.
And once again, they lost.
The Bruins (14-6, 5-4 Pac 10) fell to No. 9 Stanford (17-4, 8-1 Pac-10) 68-51 in Maples Pavilion Sunday to finish an 0-2 road trip up north after losing to Cal on Thursday.
“Our team is still trying to find that spark and energy that we can maintain,” junior guard Erica Tukiainen said. “It just didn’t quite happen again today, and that is one of the most disappointing things, not just for the coaching staff but for ourselves. We lost because of the simple things.
“We just did not step up to the plate today.”
The story was largely the same as Thursday.
The Bruins opened the game up 10-2 and forced seven Stanford turnovers in the first 12 minutes. They denied Stanford’s post-game by shutting down Jayne Appel, who had only six points on the night.
But by halftime, the Cardinal had a 25-23 lead which they would not relinquish. Stanford stretched its lead slowly, exchanging baskets early in the half to maintain a 6-to-8-point lead until they broke the game open with a 19-6 run midway through the second half that gave them a 59-39 advantage.
Frustration and lackluster execution was evident in this physical game. There was physicality on the boards, and an increased effort by UCLA to drive to the basket and draw fouls which all resulted is sprawling bodies and irritated expressions.
As the Cardinal climbed back to take the lead in the first half, FSN cameras caught sophomore forward Christina Nzekwe as she slammed her fist to the ground after going down trying to defend a fast break.
“I think a lot of it is individual desire and determination right now,” Tukiainen said.
“That is something … the coaches can’t give to the players. It is up to us.”
And on multiple occasions, the Bruins were simply out-muscled on the boards.
With just over 12 minutes left in the game as Stanford was stretching their lead, UCLA post players did an excellent job bodying up on Appel, and forced her to miss from point-blank range twice.
Yet both times, Stanford forward Jillian Harmon zipped in from the perimeter and grabbed two of her seven offensive rebounds. On the Cardinal’s third possession, Harmon nailed a 15-foot jumper.
The Cardinal’s ability to out-board the Bruins in such a manner resulted in 20 second-chance points like Harmon’s.
“That’s just effort,” Caldwell said. “That is nothing more than being fundamental, putting a body on someone and saying, “˜I’m not going to let you get this rebound.'”
With the first half of the Pac-10 season over, the Bruins will need to make adjustments quickly if they hope to tally a win against the Northern California teams in their second go-around later this year.
“We have to grow up pretty fast,” said Tukiainen.