Judging by the first 17 minutes of play, it looked like UCLA women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell was going to have a delightful homecoming.
Caldwell saw her team jump out to a 24-14 lead over her alma mater, No. 6 Tennessee, with just 3:42 left to go in the first half of Saturday’s game in Knoxville, Tenn.
It had all the makings of a monumental upset ““ a huge step for the Bruins’ women’s basketball program ““ and moreover, a great story.
Caldwell, both a former player and a former assistant coach at Tennessee under the iconic Pat Summitt, was looking for possibly the biggest victory in UCLA women’s basketball history.
But a women’s college basketball game lasts for 40 minutes, not 17.
After a sizzling start, the Bruins (4-2) fizzled out in the second half, as the Lady Volunteers (5-0) handed UCLA its second loss of the season, 61-47.
After the game, a frustrated Caldwell expressed her concern with the Bruins’ inability to play through questionable officiating, and most of all, rebounding.
“We have to learn to play through calls that don’t go our way,” Caldwell said.
“We have to be more physical underneath and box out. We can’t keep giving teams second and third looks. I think if we could have prevented that, the outcome would have been different,” she added.
The most telling statistic of Saturday’s game was indeed rebounding.
Tennessee out-rebounded UCLA, 49-35, but more importantly, the Lady Vols pulled down 20 offensive rebounds as opposed to UCLA’s 12.
Furthermore, Tennessee was able to cash in 15 second-chance points, while the Bruins only amassed two.
“I think if we could have prevented that, the outcome would have been different,” Caldwell said. “That was definitely a contributing factor to the outcome of the game.”
Throughout the majority of the first half, the Bruins were the aggressor offensively, forcing the Lady Vols to play catch-up for most of the half.
UCLA held its largest lead with a little less than four minutes to go in the half after a jumpshot by sophomore guard Rebekah Gardner stretched the margin to 10.
But Tennessee was able to finish the half strong, going on an 11-3 run and cutting the Bruins lead to only two at the break.
The second half belonged to the Lady Vols, as Summitt’s squad took the lead within the first two minutes and never looked back.
Both teams put on lackluster shooting performances.
Tennessee shot just 35 percent from the field, and UCLA connected on only 31 percent of its field-goal attempts.
Usually a source of instant offense for the Bruins, senior guard Erika Tukiainen went 3-for-11 from the field and finished with only eight points, which is something that Caldwell does not see as entirely Tukiainen’s own doing.
“Somebody has got to create opportunities for (Tukiainen) to score,” Caldwell said. “She’s not the type to break anyone down off the dribble. We’ve got to set her up.”
On the bright side for UCLA, freshman Markel Walker once again put together a performance worthy of praise, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, both career-highs and game-highs.
Although impressed by Walker’s performance, Caldwell pointed that Walker cannot be the sole rebounding presence for UCLA.
“Markel has been so consistent for us,” Caldwell said. “We can almost count on a double-double from her every game. I thought she just rose to occasion. But others have to step up their game and contribute. She can’t rebound by herself, it has to be a team effort.”
Walker leads the Bruins this season with 10.3 rebounds per game.
Aside from Walker’s 14, the Bruins pulled down just 21 boards.
The next leading rebounder for the Bruins was senior center Moniquee Alexander with five.
Despite the disappointing defeat, Caldwell expressed that it was special to be back home, but most of all she hopes that her team gained some valuable experience playing on the road in such an intimidating environment.
“It was good to be there and see family and friends,” Caldwell said.
“It was good for our team to go back and play in a hostile environment,” she added. “Hopefully it will help us on the road playing other teams.”