Author Archives: Chris Chen

For the first 20-minute period, it seemed as if the Bruins were going to conclude the road portion of their regular season with a whimper.

The UCLA women’s basketball team did turn it around in the second half of its 61-45 win over Arizona State, but the Bruins had 12 turnovers, six from sophomore forward Markel Walker alone, and countless missed opportunities on the offensive end in the first half as the Bruins held just a 24-21 advantage.

At halftime, coach Nikki Caldwell asked her team why it was not finishing point-blank layups.

A month ago, Stanford humbled the UCLA women’s basketball team in a 26-point drubbing.

The full-court press is now known as a Nikki Caldwell trademark.
At the center of the press patrols an athletic forward, flying from sideline to sideline in the backcourt, arms outstretched, legs punishing the glossed wooden panels below her.

UCLA wasn’t short of scoring opportunities Sunday afternoon against the Stanford Cardinal, but when presented with them, the Bruins’ shots fell flatly off the rim.

In the waning moments of the previous crosstown matchup, USC coach Michael Cooper could barely finish watching the game without thrusting his head into his palms.

Jasmine Dixon came up a bit gimpy after taking a flagrant foul against the Sun Devils on Thursday, but the junior forward was more than coherent against the Wildcats on Saturday.