Sunday night at the Galen Center started with strobe lights and an NBA-like introduction for the starting lineup of the USC women’s basketball team.
It ended with a lopsided 87-76 victory for the Trojans (12-9, 6-4 Pac-10) over crosstown rival UCLA (14-7, 5-5 Pac-10).
And in between, there were 44 fouls, two double fouls, a technical, some blood and ear-piercing crowd noise.
Sunday night at the Galen Center felt like March Madness in February. In a game both teams had to have, the Trojans took down the Bruins with a 27-7 run to close the first half, dropping UCLA into fifth in the Pac-10 and extending their losing streak to three games.
“What is disappointing for us is that we wanted to start the second half of conference with a good start,” junior guard Erica Tukiainen said. “You can only go up. We have to go up. We don’t have any other option.”
In what coach Nikki Caldwell called a “hard-fought battle,” the Bruins failed to counter USC’s ability to get up and down the court, shooting and scoring early in the shot clock. Rather than jumping out to a lead and surrendering it, as UCLA did in games against California and Stanford, the Bruins’ struggles were most apparent in the first half on Sunday, in which they shot only 22 percent from the field and were 1-10 from behind the arc.
The Trojans made them pay, setting a quick tempo on offense and running up 46 points on a normally stout UCLA defense, while holding UCLA to only seven points in the last 8:25 of the first half.
“This was a definite must-win game for us,” said USC junior guard Heather Oliver, who came off the bench to torch the Bruins with 19 points. “They played very well against us last time and they beat us (in the Pac-10 Tournament) last year, and we really needed to prove to them that we are ‘SC, and we are a good team.”
The Bruins did battle back with greater intensity after intermission, cutting the Trojan’s lead as low as 10. Sophomore guard Doreena Campbell carried UCLA out of the gate, scoring nine of the first 11 points for the Bruins.
But the effort came too little too late. Caldwell acknowledged that her team didn’t give up but was unhappy that they couldn’t stop the Trojan’s run in the first half.
“The point I want to make with these two listening right now (Campbell and Tukiainen) is that they have to make that adjustment, immediately,” Caldwell said of getting back in the game. “It has to be on-the-court leadership. It cannot just come from the coaching staff.”
It was after Campbell drew the Bruins close that things began to get chippy. In the midst of a 20-9 run by the Bruins to open the half, officials called two double fouls for physicality off the ball.
Then, guard Briana Gilbreath of the Women of Troy picked up a technical foul, and from there, the officials called the contest extremely tight, calling 27 fouls in the second half alone.
“If both teams are going to go out there and be physical, officials gotta call it,” USC coach Mark Trakh said. “I was very disappointed that Brianna took that T. She got a little excited and questioned somebody’s heritage. She will be running on Tuesday. That is not we’re all about.
“It just shows you the game’s intense. It’s the rivalry.”
And if the intensity on the court didn’t showcase the rivalry, USC forward Nadia Parker made it clear during the postgame press conference.
“It is important to beat the crosstown rivals and let them know that ‘SC rules L.A.,” she said.
Her coach immediately said, “No, it’s 1-1, it’s a tie.”
A BRIGHT FUTURE: USC coach Mark Trakh said multiple times that he is excited about the potential that the USC-UCLA rivalry holds in the upcoming years. He said that both teams will return many players next season and bring in new talent that should make matchups fun to watch.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of packed houses when these two teams play,” he said. “I think you’ll see two nationally ranked teams when we get together.”