In the game of basketball, a hot hand is nearly impossible to stop.
The UCLA women’s basketball team fell victim to Oregon’s senior guard Kaela Chapdelaine’s scoring streak on Saturday afternoon in Eugene, Ore. With a career-high 25 points against the Bruins (14-13, 9-7 Pac-10), Chapdelaine led the Ducks (12-16, 6-11 Pac-10) to a 66-55 victory.
UCLA and Oregon started the game off neck-and-neck. The two teams exchanged the lead eight times and stayed within four points of one another until four minutes were left in the first half. At that point, the Ducks went on an 11-4 scoring run and gained a seven-point lead at 30-23 going into halftime.
UCLA’s most impressive period of play came straight out of the locker room, as the Bruins erased their seven-point halftime deficit in the first three minutes and 16 seconds of the second half. A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Erica Tukiainen tied the score, 32-32.
“In the beginning, we were evenly matched with momentum,” senior forward Lindsey Pluimer said. “When we came out at halftime and we had the momentum in our hands we came out pretty well.”
UCLA went up by as many as four points after a layup from freshman forward Candice Brown and a jumper by junior guard Tierra Henderson.
With a large Oregon crowd behind them, the Ducks regained the momentum in the back-and-forth game of scoring runs. Behind the hands of Chapdelaine, Oregon took control of the game at the 11:31 mark. Chapdelaine was unstoppable behind the arc. In her second-to-last game at McArthur Court, she went 6-of-6 in 3-point field goals.
“She really carried her team tonight and did a great job,” Pluimer said. “We recognized that she was hot. We just weren’t able to stop her completely. They turned it around, and when you are on the road, that is what is going to happen.”
UCLA did make adjustments to contain Chapdelaine. The Bruins took different looks defensively and put players right in her face to cover her. Still, Chapdelaine was able to find openings for quick releases and made all of her long shots.
“We actually tied it a couple times, but every time we were in a good position, (Chapdelaine) would hit a 3,” coach Kathy Olivier said.
Chapdelaine scored just five points in Oregon’s loss to USC on Thursday and has averaged just 7.6 points per game this season. Her unusually strong night was a big reason for the UCLA loss.
“She got hot but apparently she did not hit anything the other night,” Olivier said. “So it’s just a matter of teams getting hot.”
Nothing went horribly wrong for the Bruins, who outrebounded the Ducks and finished with eight steals. According to Pluimer, this was part of the reason why the loss was so tough.
“When I came out here after the game, I was talking to my friends and I don’t think we played bad. I just thought they played better,” Pluimer said. “It’s not like we were messing up or playing terribly. It’s just that they came out and hit some shots and won that way.”
Pluimer was the only Bruin to score in double digits, with 15 points. She also grabbed six rebounds. Freshman guard Doreena Campbell had eight points and eight rebounds.
The loss places the Bruins in the middle of the Pac-10 standings at fifth place. The team closes out the regular season against Arizona State and Arizona next week at Pauley Pavilion.
“For the most part, I think we are playing good team basketball but I think right now we have to find more options on the offensive end,” Olivier said.