Down by three with 17 seconds remaining to Arizona, UCLA
women’s coach Kathy Olivier diagrammed an offensive set to
perfection.
A double pick was designed to free up Lisa Willis at the top of
the key, and the junior responded by burying a 3-pointer to tie the
score, appearing to send the game into overtime.
But Olivier couldn’t have predicted what happened next, as
Arizona’s Dee-Dee Wheeler was fouled on the ensuing
possession and sank a free throw to help give Arizona a 76-73 win
over UCLA on Thursday.
“It was a phantom call,” Olivier said.
“The refs called a BS foul,” Willis said.
“They were calling crappy fouls all game.”
Playing aggressive defense after tying the score at 73-73,
Willis picked Wheeler up at mid-court and was called for a reach-in
foul. Though Wheeler made the first and missed the second of her
free throws, Arizona’s Natalie Jones snagged the offensive
rebound and was fouled. Jones hit both of her free throws and the
Wildcats held their breath as Nikki Blue’s half-court
desperation shot narrowly missed, ending the Bruins’
three-game winning streak.
“The team works so hard and we battled for the whole 40
minutes,” Olivier said. “(Lisa’s) emotions were
flying. Of course you don’t think it’s a foul,
it’s the last five seconds. She played defense.”
After dropping an 11-point decision to Arizona (16-8, 8-5
Pac-10) in its last meeting at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA wanted to
return the favor in Tucson. The Bruins got off to a blazing start,
opening up the game on a 16-2 run.
And though UCLA kept Arizona’s one-two punch of Wheeler
and Shawtinice Polk in check, the Bruins were unable to maintain
the lead. Polk, a 6-foot-5-inch center, was held to just two points
on the night, while Wheeler, the second-leading scorer in the
conference, hit just 5-for-15 of her shots for 14 points.
“We played our man and a little zone,” Olivier said.
“The post players did a great job against (Polk). It was
definitely a group effort to shut her down.”
The Bruins (15-8, 9-5) are now battling with five other teams in
their conference for an NCAA Tournament berth.