SAN JOSE “”mdash; Something was obviously said at halftime. After
a first half in which they committed 12 turnovers and shot 29
percent from the field, the Bruins seemed to be falling into the
same pattern that had haunted them earlier this season. This time,
however, the Bruins seemed to find the solution, winning after
trailing at halftime for the first time this season . According to
coach Kathy Olivier, the solution was simple: Play defense.
“We had to match their defensive intensity,” Olivier
said. “We were kind of in a daze in the first half, so we
just had to pick it up, and we did that.” The Bruins had
eight of their 17 steals in the second half, and used those forced
turnovers to start the second half with an 8-0 run. In fact, No. 11
Arizona State had one stretch in which it committed turnovers on
four straight possessions. “Our defense fuels our offense,
and we know that,” senior guard Lisa Willis said. “If
we continue to get our hands in the passing lanes and be
aggressive, everything will fall into place.” Altogether, the
Bruins held the Sun Devils to 42 percent shooting after halftime.
The Sun Devils only made one of their four final field goal
attempts, and committed two turnovers during the two most critical
situations in the game. UCLA now has 37 steals in its first two
days of the Pac-10 Tournament, and has played some of the best
defense on record, according to Olivier. “These girls get it,
we’ve been here before,” Olivier said. “They know
how to step it up, and we’ve done it the last couple of
games.” “And look what happened, we’re in the
Pac-10 championship game,” Olivier said. UCLA faces Stanford
at 7:30 p.m. in the championship game tonight.
OLIVIER’S BIG WIN: Sunday’s victory
over Arizona State was Olivier’s 200th career win. In her
13th season at UCLA, Olivier has led the Bruins to their first
Pac-10 championship game, and to a 19-victory season for the first
time since 1998-1999. “This was just a great women’s
basketball game,” Olivier said. “The intensity, the
fans, the whole atmosphere, it was big time. (It was an) honor for
me to be out there.”
BIG VICTORIES: The Bruins have won two out of
three meetings with the Sun Devils this season. Sunday’s
victory gave the Bruins their fourth over a ranked team this
season. The others came against then-No. 9 Arizona State, then-No.
11 Georgia and then-No. 11 Stanford. UCLA’s game against
Stanford tonight will give the Bruins another chance at taking two
out of three games from a ranked conference foe.
DRIBBLERS: Blue’s 11 assists against Cal
on Saturday set a Pac-10 Tournament record. … Noelle
Quinn’s 16-point, 10-rebound performance was her tenth
double-double this season. … The Bruins’ 19 first-half
points on Sunday marked a season low. … UCLA broke Arizona
State’s 10-game winning streak, which was an ASU record.