It wasn’t pretty, but the UCLA women’s basketball team was finally able to gain control over a back-and-forth tussle with the Cal Golden Bears Friday night, defeating Cal 57-46 in the first of UCLA’s two Pac-10 weekend matchups in Pauley Pavilion.
It was the Bruins’ ninth double-digit win of the season, but it certainly did not come easy. Friday’s contest was physical to say the least. Cal (6-7, 0-2) banged on the boards from start to finish, out-rebounding UCLA 49-34, largely in part to the 24 offensive rebounds that the Golden Bears were able to pull down, as opposed to 11 for the Bruins (10-4, 3-0).
But despite the rebounding disparity, the Bruins were able to nab their third consecutive Pac-10 victory, and are undefeated in Pac-10 play.
“I thought we really recouped in the second half,” UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell said after Friday’s win. “I thought Cal really came out tough defensively; they were scrappier, they were tougher than we were, but in the second half we regrouped and I thought our bench was huge for us, coming out and giving us great points, rebounding and just great intensity.”
Leading the Bruins was sophomore guard Jasmine Dixon, who scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Usually a standout for Caldwell’s squad, freshman forward Markel Walker had her worst game of the season production-wise, tallying only one point and two rebounds in only 14 minutes.
“There’s some games where Markel is going to be that player to give those quality minutes too, but I though Christina (Nzekwe) and Moniquee (Alexander) really did a great job for us,” Caldwell said. “Hopefully Markel will learn … that not all opportunities are just going to be given to you: that you’ve got to earn them day in and day out.”
Regardless of Walker’s inability to get going, the Bruins battled Cal throughout the game’s entirety before pulling away at the end and securing their 10th win of the season.
Next up for the Bruins is perhaps their biggest challenge of the season, as they will play host to the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.