While classes resumed for students Monday, winning did not for the UCLA women’s basketball team as it fell to Oregon 62-46 at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins led at halftime but the Ducks opened up the second half with a 9-0 run and never looked back.
The loss was an especially frustrating one for the team and coach Cori Close who were leading at half time but collapsed defensively and stagnated offensively.
“We are about building young women and the journey, and sometimes it’s really hard when you’re not at the destination you wanted,” Close said. “But this is when I have to take responsibility for making sure we lead in a way that reflects our mission.”
Offensive production was a huge issue. The Bruins matched their season low in shooting percentage from their game against Oregon State, making only 25 percent of their shots. They also missed 15 lay-ups.
The first half saw little points and many missed shots from both teams as Oregon shot 21 percent and UCLA shot 22 percent. However, Oregon came out firing in the second half shooting 41 percent whereas UCLA only shot 27 percent.
Redshirt junior Kacy Swain, who had eight points and 10 rebounds, said that “communicating with each other and knowing where shooters are” were the biggest issues with the defense.
“We didn’t do that either half, but it really showed more in the second half,” Swain said.
Oregon shot 3-20 from the arc in the first half, but improved to 5-8 in the second.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kari Korver led the team with 13 points. The three-point specialist attributed the breakdown in defense to knowing the game plan and then going out and executing it.
“It’s just the mental focus of knowing that’s what they want to do, they wanted to get off threes and we had to keep them from getting second opportunities,” Korver said.
The Ducks scored 24 points off of threes and out-rebounded the Bruins by eight, grabbing 16 offensive boards compared to UCLA’s 12.
Freshman guard Jordin Canada was out of the game with a broken nose and a concussion. Junior guard Nirra Fields played through a sprained ankle sustained in the last minutes of the last game. Despite their limited roles, Close said that cannot be used as an excuse.
Few positives can be taken from this frustrating loss, but the Bruins did snap the Duck’s star Jillian Alleyne’s streak of double doubles at 21. Freshman forward Monique Billings recorded four blocks in the second half leading to a career high with five. Close also commended Swain for playing well after struggling earlier in the season.
“We will become an elite basketball program. We’re not right now,” Close said.
The pressure will be on Close to fix the holes during a challenging Pac-12 schedule where no team can be taken for granted.