Friday, February 21, 1997
W. HOOPS:
Bruins have yet to beat Pac-10 team ranked in top fiveBy Anthony
Carter
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s basketball team, which continues to play hard
this season, if only for pride, will face USC on Saturday night at
7:30 in the Lyon Center.
The Bruins (11-11, 5-8 Pac-10) are coming off an impressive
91-61 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils. While UCLA has
beaten all four teams under them in the conference standings, it
hasn’t beaten anyone in the top five. USC (16-6, 10-3) is in the
latter group.
The Women of Troy, behind senior Tina Thompson’s 22.5 points and
10.4 rebounds per game, stand at second place in the
conference.
In this season’s earlier meeting, USC prevailed 60-56 at Pauley
Pavilion. The X factor in that contest was sophomore Kris Clark,
who converted on a barrage of fast-break buckets.
"This time around we want to have better transition defense and
defense positioning as a whole," UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier
said. "We will not make Clark look like an All-American. We’re on a
roll. We just need to keep it going."
USC, on the other hand, has struggled to a 2-2 record over its
last four games. Aside from a 14-point victory over ASU, the
Trojans have not looked like the second-place team that they
are.
But USC head coach Fred Williams disagrees with the notion that
his team has struggled of late.
"We’ve played consistently throughout the year," Williams said.
"I’m pleased with how we’ve bounced back (from each loss)."
Melanie Pearson and Marie Philman have stepped up their play
recently. Pearson, as a starter, has averaged 13 points and has
made 10 of her last 15 three-point attempts. Philman’s more
aggressive play of late helped her score 12 points against Arizona
State.
"We need Mel to make some good reads with the basketball,"
Olivier said. "(And) we need Philman’s athleticism. We really have
to have them step up."