SAN JOSE “”mdash; When it came down to the final seconds of the
game and probably the season, the ball was going to wind up in
Nikki Blue’s hands.
Down by two with 7.6 seconds remaining Saturday against Arizona
State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament, UCLA’s
point guard knew of only one path to take to tie the game ““
straight to the hoop. But as Blue dribbled down the baseline, she
was cut off and swarmed by a horde of Sun Devils.
Trapped and forced to throw up a last-second attempt under the
rim, Blue’s shot lipped out and the Bruins’ NCAA
tournament hopes took perhaps one last devastating hit with a
heartbreaking 73-71 loss to the Sun Devils.
“I thought I was going to draw the foul, but I guess I
didn’t do a good enough job doing that,” Blue said.
“It looked good, but it just rattled out.”
After dropping five of its last six contests to finish the
season, the Bruins are at a precarious 16-12 record and are behind
five other Pac-10 teams also vying for a tournament bid.
Pleading her case for an NCAA tournament bid, Olivier hopes that
the selection committee takes into account the Bruins’ early
wins, their narrow defeats at the end of the season and the loss of
sophomore Noelle Quinn, who has been out since mid-season with a
knee injury.
“I’m hoping they look at that, and I’m also
hoping they look at us like a healthy team,” Olivier said.
“It’s sad if this is how we go out because I know UCLA
would represent the Pac-10 like the Pac-10 deserves to be
represented.
“The Pac-10 deserves more than just three to four teams
in. I’m taking five to six, and we’re one of those,
dang it.”
UCLA’s prospective NCAA tournament hopes may have very
well have rested on the basket that Blue missed.
With her mouthpiece hanging limply from her lips, Blue could
only stare blankly with one hand at her side and the other up in
the air pointing at the basket.
Yet, Blue did all she could, putting the entire Bruin squad on
her back all afternoon.
Blue scored 11 of the Bruins’ final 15 points from a
variety of angles to keep her team in the game. With 2:21
remaining, she drained a fall-away 19-footer despite being held,
which brought the Bruins to within four.
The junior shot 14-for-29 from the field, going off for a
career-high 36 points.
“There’s more great games to come,” Blue said.
“I promise you that.”
But Blue’s performance just wasn’t enough.
Aside from guard Lisa Willis, who tied her season best with 25
points on 8-for-13 from the field, the rest of the Bruins were
virtually nonexistent. Of the 71 points scored in the game, only 10
points were from players other than Blue and Willis.
Meanwhile, Arizona State had a range of options to choose from.
Kristen Kovesdy, who had 19 points on 9 of 13 shooting, took
advantage of the foul trouble that plagued UCLA post-players Amanda
Livingston and Lindsey Pluimer in the second half.
“My teammates were definitely looking for me in the second
half,” Kovesdy said. “We have to move the ball around
and then look inside because it’s a one-on-one inside
opportunity. (The guards) were leading me to where the defense
wasn’t, most of my points were attributed to my
guards.”
When the Bruins did collapse down on Kovesdy, it left Kylan
Loney and other Sun Devils open on the perimeter.
Loney hit back-to-back uncontested 3-pointers with 5:31 left,
sparking a 10-2 Sun Devil run that the Bruins proved unable to
bounce back from. Arizona State shot 47 percent from the field and
tallied 12 more assists than the Bruins.
Now, the Bruins will need some assistance from the selection
committee if their season is going to extend to the NCAA
tournament.