The women’s basketball team will get this week off, and the team may need it just to regroup.
The Bruins (4-4) are sliding after a 63-57 loss at San Diego (5-4) on Saturday, which was their fourth loss in five games. In the past two weeks UCLA has fallen to the likes of Pepperdine, Idaho State and now San Diego.
Against the Toreros, the Bruins got off to a slow start and trailed for most of the first half, falling to 13 points behind near the end of the period. In the second half UCLA climbed within two points with a 19-2 run but slipped down the stretch and lost the game by a six-point margin.
Amber Sprague, the Toreros’ 6-foot-5-inch center, dominated in the post and finished the game with 30 points and nine rebounds. Down the stretch, though, it was freshman guard Sam Child who scored six big points at the end of the game. Child totaled 15 points and eight rebounds.
In the Bruins’ recent string of losses, coach Kathy Olivier has pinpointed the team’s number of fouls as a problem area. UCLA again sent its opponent to the line frequently Saturday; the Toreros shot 29 free throws. Sprague alone made more free throws (12) than the entire Bruin team (10).
Statistically it was an unimpressive night for UCLA. Freshman Nina Earl finished with 12 points, but she was the only player on the team to finish in double figures. No Bruin grabbed more than six rebounds.
The 57-point total for the Bruin team was the lowest of the season as well.
Sprague’s dominance in the post was at both ends of the court, as the senior was able to stop the Bruin’s leading scorer, forward Lindsey Pluimer.
Pluimer finished the game with just six points, her lowest scoring output of the entire season.
The road only gets tougher for the Bruins. They face BYU (6-5) next Saturday, before a marquee matchup with No. 1 Tennessee (7-0) on Dec. 19 at Pauley Pavilion.