After a disappointing performance against No. 2 Stanford on Thursday, the UCLA women’s basketball team gained a bit of redemption when they knocked off the Cal Golden Bears, 44-32, Saturday afternoon in Berkeley.
In what was a sloppy outing for both teams, combining to commit 38 turnovers as opposed to making only 24 field goals combined, the Bruins were able to rely on their defense to steal the road win against the Bears and secure the season sweep over their Bay Area rivals.
“Our offense didn’t do what it needed to do today, so we fell back on our defense,” UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell said after Saturday’s win. “We were missing some shots but I credit Cal for being very scrappy.”
With the win, the Bruins now move into sole possession of second place in the Pac-10 behind the Cardinal. The Women of Troy, having loss to Cal on Thursday, can stay tied with the Bruins if they are able to pull off the upset of Stanford with the two teams meet up Sunday.
Next up for the Bruins is a rematch with the Women of Troy on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will be out to avenge a 70-63 loss to USC on Jan. 17 at the Galen Center.