The UCLA women’s basketball team was supposed to end its season with a bang.
After a thrilling, buzzer-beater win over Oregon on Thursday night, the Bruins (18-11, 9-9 Pac-10) were unable to recreate that climactic ending in Saturday’s 61-58 loss to Oregon State (19-10, 9-9 Pac-10).
And with the loss, the Bruins did serious damage to their NCAA Tournament hopes.
The first half of play against the Beavers is ultimately what hurt the Bruins as they were in foul trouble from the start. Sophomore guards Darxia Morris, Doreena Campbell, and junior guard Erica Tukiainen each picked up two fouls and had to sit out part of the first half.
“I thought by getting into foul trouble and having our entire backcourt get two fouls early in the first half, I thought that really hurt us,” coach Nikki Caldwell said.
In addition, Oregon State’s senior guard Brittney Davis started the game with a hot hand, scoring 13 of her team’s first 15 points.
With 12:06 on the clock and the score tied at 12, Davis hit a 3-pointer to spark the Beaver’s 10-2 scoring run.
The Beavers made six 3-point shots in the first half, including three from Davis.
“A lot of their players were shooting, and we were supposed the guard their threes, and so I think that’s how they were able to get a lead off of us,” Campbell said. “For the most part it was the first half, not playing defense.”
Coming out of the locker room after halftime, the Bruins were down 36-27, but things started to turn around. UCLA held Oregon State to just 25 points in the second half and made a run toward the end of the game.
“I really challenged them to limit the touches of the other team,” Caldwell said. “At the break we talked about establishing our defense, and I thought that in the second half, they did that.”
Down by eight points with 2:21 left on the clock, the Bruins could have folded.
But a layup and a free throw from Campbell closed the Beavers’ lead to five points at 61-56. Then with just 1:29 remaining, Morris made two free throws to put UCLA within reach at 61-58.
After Oregon State missed a 3-point shot and a jumper, UCLA had the chance to score.
But unlike Thursday night when Morris hit a 3-point buzzer-beater from 40 feet to win the game against Oregon, freshman guard Rebekah Gardner could not knock down the last-second 3-pointer to push the game into overtime.
“We fought hard at the end,” Campbell said. “We had a few not-so-good calls but we did not give up.”
Morris finished the game with 16 points before she fouled out. Campbell contributed 14 points and one steal. As a team, UCLA finished with 21 offensive rebounds.
With the loss, UCLA’s chances of earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament got quite a bit slimmer. However, the Bruins have the Pac-10 Tournament to look forward to next week. According the Campbell, UCLA cannot wait to get a third chance to face some of their regular-season opponents.
“I think for some of these losses, such as (Saturday’s) against Oregon State, we will have that drive and that heart to beat them,” Campbell said.
“I don’t think we’re going to change much about what we are doing. I think it’s just going to depend with the Pac-10s about who has more heart,” she added.