This was not the kind of statement game UCLA envisioned.
Saturday’s game was supposed to be a showcase for the Bruins to demonstrate why they deserved an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Instead, it was about Stanford asserting itself as a national-title contender.
In front of the observant eyes of a TV audience, the UCLA women’s basketball team fell behind early and watched as its NCAA hopes and season slipped away. No. 2 Stanford dominated Saturday night’s Pac-10 semifinal from start to finish, trouncing the Bruins, 73-47. It was a bitter defeat for a UCLA team hoping to sneak into the NCAA Tournament with a late-season push.
“This team has battled,” UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell said following the loss. “They have done a great job of accepting the type of play we want here at UCLA.”
Entering the game as heavy underdogs, the Bruins looked to create offensive opportunities off their defensive pressure ““ much as they had done the night before. But this time around, Stanford had the shooters to answer. Cardinal guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude hit three shots from behind the 3-point arc, including two on consecutive possessions, to put the Cardinal out in front 12-5 and well on the way to a dominating performance.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike led Stanford with 15 points, while Stanford center Sarah Boothe contributed 12. Cardinal center Jayne Appel, the conference player of the year, was held in check by foul trouble, scoring 10 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Pac-10 third-teamer, Stanford sophomore forward Kayla Pedersen was held scoreless on just two shots. Despite the shut-down defense on Pedersen, Stanford countered the UCLA defense with a balanced offensive attack. Five players scored in double digits for the Cardinal, which advanced to the title game against sixth-seeded USC.
“I thought our team was focused,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We knew we had to play extremely well. UCLA is an extremely athletic and aggressive team, and we had to work very hard to get this win.”
Meanwhile, the Bruins struggled to get anything going offensively. Stanford held UCLA to just 34 percent shooting for the game, as the Bruins missed several short jumpers. The offensive woes were augmented by sloppy play. Facing a lock-down Cardinal defense, the Bruins constantly turned the ball over. With so many empty possessions on the offensive end, the Cardinal were able to methodically pull away.
“I think we just had difficulty getting into our offense,” point guard Doreena Campbell said. “That was it.”
The second half saw things only get worse for the Bruins, who could not close the floodgates on Stanford. UCLA scored only one point in the first 7:38 of the half, allowing Stanford to stretch its 18-point halftime lead to 35. Turnovers again plagued UCLA, with Stanford converting several easy opportunities. The drought created an insurmountable deficit for a demoralized Bruin squad.
“They did a really good job of turning us over,” Caldwell said. “We couldn’t overcome (our poor shooting). I thought we didn’t make the extra pass and didn’t play as a unit.”
The loss probably means that UCLA’s already slim NCAA hopes have vanished. The Bruins finished the regular season at fourth place in the Pac-10 with a 9-9 conference record, and most likely would have needed to win the conference tournament title to secure a bid.
“We are officially done,” Caldwell said.
When asked whether the team would accept a Women’s National Invitational Tournament bid, Caldwell said her team would decline an invitation.
Despite the disappointing finish, Caldwell believes that her first year of head coaching was a successful one. Addressing her two guards, sophomores Campbell and Darxia Morris, Caldwell looked to the team’s future.
“They are the future of the program,” Caldwell said of her guards. “We’re excited about the fact that we have young ladies coming back. … We need to be more of a team (next season).”
UCLA never led in the game, with Stanford scoring the first four points. The closest the Bruins got was 6-5, and that was with 16:27 to go in the first half. The game was a physical one, with both teams plagued by foul trouble. In total, 44 fouls were committed.
“We didn’t have the same mentality as we did against Oregon State,” Morris said. “We didn’t execute. If we had played together, we would have done a better job.”
UCLA senior forward Chinyere Ibekwe, the team’s lone remaining senior, reflected on her final season in Westwood, praising the effort of her teammates and coaches.
“I think with Nikki here it was great,” Ibekwe said. “She is the first coach to really implement discipline and talk about discipline every day. Our aim was the NCAA’s, and the games we didn’t execute in came back to haunt us.”