UCLA women’s basketball’s defense leads to 71-61 win over Temple

The UCLA women’s basketball team came into the game Sunday knowing it carried its best record since the 1986-1987 campaign.

The Bruins were also aware of the Temple Owls’ shooting prowess, but only to a certain extent.

It took a switch to a man-to-man defense midway through the second half to stymie the Owls’ offense, and the Bruins raised the intensity in time to pass their second true test of the young season, winning 71-61.

Right off the opening tip, senior Temple guard Qwedia Wallace drained a 3 from the wing, but it was junior forward Kristen McCarthy who knocked down the majority of the Owls’ shots from beyond the arc, hitting five.

“When you’ve got McCarthy who is shooting the way she is, you have got to be able to close out on her, whether you are in man or in zone, and we were missing our defensive assignments,” coach Nikki Caldwell said.

Meanwhile, the No.

Men’s soccer defeats San Diego State, 3-1, in regular-season finale, awaits NCAA bracket announcement

Often times when teams aren’t able to control every aspect of their destiny, they tend to fail to compete at the highest level.

When the California Bears clinched the Pac-10 title with a 3-2 victory against Stanford last week, things could have gone south for UCLA with a lackadaisical effort.

“Unfortunately, even though our record is outstanding, we hoped that we could (control our destiny) after Thursday,” coach Jorge Salcedo said.

But for captain junior Andy Rose, UCLA had more to prove and always something to play for.

“Obviously, the fact that we couldn’t win the Pac-10 was in the back of our mind, but to be honest, we’re just playing for that top seed,” he said.

With the NCAA Selection Committee revealing the seedings this afternoon, UCLA could have easily overlooked a San Diego State team that has given the Bruins some trouble in the past.

Dynamic duo turns up the heat

Rex and Silent Killer aren’t the best of friends, but they’ve embarked on a four-month mission together.

During each assignment, the oft-overlooked Silent Killer will snipe from distance; Rex, with tyrannosaurus-like range and speed, will be the driving force behind each assignment.

It all begins on the backcourt, where this duo applies a suffocating pressure that commands a distinct fear in the opposition.

Darting from sideline to sideline, S.K.