It might not be Dimaggio-like, but the UCLA women’s
basketball team has quite the streak of its own.
Freshman Nikki Blue scored a career-high 30 points as the Bruins
notched their seventh-straight victory, toppling Arizona State last
night in Tempe, Arizona, 60-58.
“Nikki came up big for us down the stretch,” UCLA
head coach Kathy Olivier said. “We were able to spread them
out on defense, and that is to her strength. She was able to
explode to the basket and score or draw the foul.”
The victory did not come easily for the Bruins (11-4, 6-0
Pac-10).
UCLA trailed the Sun Devils by one point with less than a minute
remaining when Blue appeared to take control of the game.
The 5-foot-8-inch phenom buried a 15-footer to give UCLA a 58-57
lead with 45 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Blue stole
the ball in the backcourt, and was fouled, converting one of two
shots from the line. Blue made another free throw on UCLA’s
next possession, and a half-court heave from Arizona State’s
Carrie Buckner fell well short, preserving the victory for the
Bruins.
“This team knows how to win,” Olivier said.
“Winning the first game on this road trip was absolutely huge
for us.”
UCLA’s victory snapped the Sun Devils’ 10-game home
winning streak in conference play and kept the squad atop the
Pac-10 standings. The Sun Devils (11-5, 3-4 Pac-10) fell to fifth
place, three-and-a-half games behind the front-running Bruins.
One encouraging sign for UCLA was that it was able to pull out
the victory despite not receiving much of an offensive contribution
from senior guard Michelle Greco. The Pac-10’s leading scorer
was averaging 19.8 points per contest, but the Sun Devils’
swarming defense limited her to just six.
“Teams usually have to choose whether to guard Greco or
guard me, and today they chose Greco,” Blue said. “My
teammates recognized that I was hot, and they just kept getting me
the ball.”
While Blue shouldered the load offensively, Greco remained a
factor in other areas of the game. She pulled down a career-high
nine rebounds, and held Arizona State freshman Jill Noe to just 11
points, four below her average on the season.
The Bruins’ defensive effort was consistently strong, but
their rebounding was woeful to say the least. Arizona State had a
55-35 edge on the boards, and converted numerous second and third
chances offensively.
“You look at the stats, and you get mad,” Olivier
said. “Our rebounding is something we have to
change.”
UCLA must improve quickly to have any chance of defeating No. 18
Arizona on Saturday. The Wildcats (11-4, 5-2 Pac-10) will have a
huge height advantage against the Bruins, and feature the best
center in the conference, 6-foot-5-inch freshman Shawntinice
Polk.
Nonetheless, riding a seven-game victory, the Bruins are
certainly feeling no pressure.
“Getting the first win on the road was big,” Blue
said. “It gives us a lot of confidence going into
Arizona.”