Women’s basketball adapts in strong second half to sink Ducks 80-69

Nirra Fields decided that her team was going to beat Oregon.

During the No. 21 Bruins’ (10-3, 2-0) 80-69 victory over the previously unbeaten Ducks (11-1, 0-1) on Saturday in Pauley Pavilion, many players contributed to the win, but the senior guard did not just contribute to the victory. With a game-high 31 points, she demanded it.

“I thought Nirra Fields was just rock solid. As well as she played offensively and shot the ball – obviously she had a great game – I thought her defense was even better,” said coach Cori Close.

In the first quarter, Fields found herself uncontested around the perimeter and responded by hitting three 3-pointers, putting the Bruins up 23-15 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was sloppy on both sides of the ball as the Bruins looked befuddled by the same zone that they had gotten easy looks off of in the first period. Senior forward Kacy Swain scrapped in added points, but the team went into the half down 39-35.

Oregon’s senior forward Jillian Alleyne showed why she is an All-American, pounding the glass throughout the game. She finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, the majority coming in the first half.

UCLA, known for its up-tempo style of play, struggled to get into transition, forcing itself into a half-court style of play that the Bruins were not entirely accustomed to. They finished the half shooting 32.4 percent, with no fast-break points.

“We weren’t getting as many stops,” Close said. “Everyone knows we want to run in transition and so when we can get stops and keep them from scoring we’re going to get to play the way we want to play. When we have to take it out of the net too much, they get a chance to set their zone and it’s a lot harder to get the kinds of shots we want to get.”

Things came back the Bruins’ way in the third. Fields broke through the zone for a layup, and junior guard Kari Korver and Swain found openings in transition to put the Bruins up six with 2:32 to go. Korver hit another 3 and sophomore guard Jordin Canada found Fields around the basket for a 3-point play to put the Bruins up 12 going into the final period.

The big third quarter was not uncommon for the Bruins, who have averaged more than 24 points in the period this season, their highest scoring in any quarter. It was a stark contrast to their performance in the first half, and led to a 16-point swing.

“We were a lot smarter versus their zone in the second half. We tried to attack the forward side more,” Close said. “We made some tactical adjustments, but for the most part we just got stops.”

Both teams traded blows in the fourth, with Fields eventually hitting her fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the game to put the Bruins up 13 before later making a long jumper to maintain that lead with just over three minutes left.

“I hit the first three (3-pointers) and was like, ‘I’ll keep going until I miss’,” Fields said.

The game was huge for the senior guard, a possible All-American and likely WNBA draft pick.

“I work out before the games and (Fields) was out there doing form shooting and I had to tell her to get off (the court),” Close said. “She works on her game all the time.”

The victory was also critical for the Bruins in proving that they could beat a team that played a slower, forward-oriented game similar to what they will see against No. 10 Oregon State on Monday. Canada found a rhythm in the half-court as the game went on, finishing with a career-high 11 assists.

“(Playing at a slower pace) is the same mind-set, knowing your reads coming off the screens, or seeing your cutters, it’s just the same mind-set. There’s no difference.” Canada said. “Tonight since most of the time we had to slow it down in the half-court, (it is about) execution, just execute.”

This was UCLA’s second straight win against a previously undefeated opponent, after defeating conference rival USC on Saturday.