Tuesday, January 21, 1997
W. HOOPS:
UCLA falls victim to Arizona’s defense, quickly become easy prey
in 69-45 lossBy Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The women’s basketball team headed into the desert this weekend,
looking to approach the top of the Pacific 10 standings.
They returned to find themselves in a hole about the size of the
Grand Canyon.
Two days after blowing a 20-point lead at Arizona State, the
Bruins (8-7, 2-4 in Pac-10) were mauled by the Wildcats of Arizona
on Saturday, 69-45.
UCLA was never in the game. Less than four minutes into the
game, the Bruins had already fallen behind 10-3. They were never
able to seriously threaten after that, and lost for the fourth time
in their past five games.
The Wildcats (13-3, 2-4) were led by Adia Barnes’ 28 points, 10
rebounds and seven steals.
But, Arizona won the game with defense. The third-ranked
defensive squad in the Pac-10 held the Bruins to their lowest
scoring output of the season (the previous low was 53 points
against both Seton Hall and George Washington).
The Bruins shot only 34 percent from the field and missed all 11
three-point attempts.
Arizona also stole the ball 16 times, increasing their lead in
that category of the Pac-10 rankings (averaging 14.4 steals per
game).
However, the Bruins had an additional 15 unforced turnovers,
sealing their fate in Tucson.
Forward Maylana Martin was a bright spot for the Bruins, as she
scored 20 points for the eighth time this season. With a scoring
average of 19.5 points per game, Martin is on pace to break the
Pac-10 freshman record (USC’s Lisa Leslie averaged 19.4 points per
game her freshman season in 1990-91).
Martin’s 20 points led the team, and the remaining four starters
combined for only 18 points.
The next couple of weeks won’t be any easier for the Bruins.
Friday, they will do battle with second-place USC, and the week
after they will play third-place Oregon.
UCLA Sports Info
Maylana Martin