After an up-and-down week with a pair of away games, a road-weary Bruins squad made itself at home Sunday afternoon. UCLA won its second game in a row, easily topping winless Cal State Northridge (0-7) 96-53 in a non-conference contest at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA now finds itself in a familiar position after jumping out to a hot start. The Bruins, who started 3-1 a year ago before struggling the rest of the way, improved to 4-1 in the 2008 season after successfully rebounding from a difficult cross-country trek to Maryland.
The defensive struggles of the Maryland contest became a thing of the past on Sunday, as the Bruins jumped into passing lanes, tipped loose balls, and converted on several turnovers to rout the hapless Matadors.
It was the kind of defensive effort that first-year coach Nikki Caldwell has been hoping for since the season began.
“I wouldn’t say we brought our A-game, but we did very well defensively at times.” Caldwell said. “We separated ourselves from our opponents today,”
UCLA’s post players stepped up to make their presence felt, helping ease the scoring burden of the Bruin backcourt. Senior post Chinyere Ibekwe had another solid performance, pitching in 13 points ““ including 10 in the first half ““ while the other Bruins combined to out-rebound Northridge by 18. The outstanding play on the boards has become something of a signature for this UCLA team, which has successfully utilized its frontline depth to dominate defensively underneath the basket.
Junior guard Erica Tukiainen led the Bruins with 16 points in a game that turned out to be one of UCLA’s strongest offensive performances of the young season. The offensive burst could be attributed to the return of a familiar face to the Bruin lineup. Sophomore point guard Darxia Morris has seen increased minutes in recent games after sitting out the first two regular season games. Morris had been rehabbing a right knee injury she suffered last season. Morris’ presence has added another dimension to a UCLA offense in need of another ball handler.
“She brings a balance and a peace,” Caldwell said. “Darxia isn’t just a player, and she’s a leader on the offensive end and on defense. She’s somebody who will make a play for us.”
Perhaps the highlight of the game came midway through the second half. Morris grabbed a defensive rebound and flung a full-court pass to a streaking Ibekwe, who was fouled as her lay-up fell through the net. The play was just one of many impressive fast-breaks by the Bruin offense against a struggling Northridge defense. It was the largest margin of victory for the Bruins since UCLA defeated Sacramento State 106-43 on Nov. 24, 2002.
“I don’t want the defense to get set, and I don’t like walking the ball up the floor,” Morris said. “I feel like I can push the ball up all the time.”
UCLA DOWNS POLY: The Bruins’ second road contest went considerably better than its first. After dropping a difficult road game at national powerhouse Maryland, the Bruins rebounded with a 57-48 win at Cal Poly San Louis Obispo.
Sophomore guard Nina Earl led UCLA with 12 points, the only Bruin to score in double figures.
“I’m just focusing on playing my game, and playing defense,” Earl said.
It was not the strongest of offensive performances, but UCLA clamped down defensively to stifle the Mustangs (2-2). The Bruins continued their trend of dominating on the glass, pulling down 43 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. The Mustang offense failed to get much done against the Bruin’s defense, shooting under 35 percent from the field. With the win, the Bruins improved to 3-1, and erased some of the bad taste left over from the defeat at Maryland. In that matchup, UCLA did not execute well on the offensive end, a problem that continued against the Mustangs. They shot only 40 percent from the field, while turning the ball over 15 times. The 57 points was also a season low for Caldwell’s team. Despite the offensive deficiencies, Caldwell is confident the Bruins will improve.
“We need to do some things better,” Caldwell said. “We’re turning the ball over a lot, we’re missing easy buckets in the paint, and we need to convert on our opportunities. If we can do that, we’ll be in every game.”
UCLA plays their next contest Wednesday against Cal State Bakersfield at Pauley Pavilion.