Monday, March 9, 1998
Tremendous comeback not enough to tame Wildcats
WRAP: Winning streak ends, but Bruins still hopeful for
tourney
By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s basketball team’s youth has been the secret of
much of their success this season. But on Saturday their youth and
inexperience shot them in the foot.
After closing No. 9 Arizona’s 23-point halftime lead to just
five with 2:35 left, the No. 23 Bruins (19-8, 14-4 in the Pac-10)
turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions in the last
two minutes to fall to the Wildcats 84-73 in Tucson, Ariz.
"I think since our team is so young we got excited that we came
back," UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said, who has nine sophomores
on the team, four of which start. "I told them to slow down in
those last two minutes.
"That’s something we talked about in the locker room (after the
game) and something we have to get better at, just taking care of
the basketball."
Behind inspired play by All-American candidate Maylana Martin
and center Janae Hubbard in the second half, who finished the game
with 24 and 16 points, respectively, the Bruins slowly chipped at
the Wildcats’ huge lead.
Martin’s basket from the elbow of the key at the 4:25 mark of
the second half put the sophomore forward in a select group of
Bruins. The basket gave Martin over 1,000 points after two seasons
at UCLA. Only two players in UCLA history have completed that feat:
Necie Thompson and Hall of Famer Denise Curry.
With 2:35 left in the game the Bruins had trimmed the Wildcat
lead to 75-70 and had possession of the ball. Sophomore point guard
Erica Gomez turned the ball over on the ensuing possession.
After getting fouled, Arizona’s Adia Barnes hit the front end of
a one-and-one to increase the Wildcat lead to 76-70. On the very
next possession, freshman guard LaCresha Flannigan turned the ball
over when Arizona’s Marte Alexander jumped in front of her pass.
Alexander then got fouled and went on to make one of two from the
line.
Gomez got the rebound and raced up court only to have her pass
intercepted by Arizona’s Resea Bristol. After being immediately
fouled, Bristol missed both of her free throws.
When the Bruins tried to set up their half-court offense with
just over a minute left down seven points, 77-70, Martin threw an
errant pass into the crowd.
"We tried to get a couple of quick baskets and in the process we
turned the ball over," Olivier said.
After getting fouled with 33 seconds left, Barnes hit both of
her free throws to extend the Wildcat lead to 79-70 and Arizona
wouldn’t have to look back again.
All told, the Bruins committed 26 turnovers in the game with
Gomez leading the way with nine.
Nevertheless, UCLA’s courageous comeback cannot be
forgotten.
"I think the comeback was a big step for us," Olivier said.
"Against Stanford (a game in which UCLA lost 105-80) we really
never made a comeback after we got down.
"I think the players stayed together and stayed focused. We
chipped away at the lead but they just ended up being the better
team tonight."
Arizona (21-6, 14-4 in the Pac-10) built much of their
first-half lead because they out-hustled the Bruins for loose balls
and rebounds.
Barnes, the second-leading scorer in Arizona history, played a
big part in Arizona’s huge first-half lead, as she scored 24 points
in the game, 16 in the first half.
"(Adia Barnes) got hot. We couldn’t keep her off the boards,"
Olivier said. "She scored whenever she wanted to. That pretty much
told the story in the first half."
Olivier lit into the Bruins at halftime, telling them to put
some more effort and hustle in the second half.
"I told them if anything we go out of here not because they
outworked us but because we lost the game," Olivier said. "We
worked hard on the effort and gave a little more than we did in the
first half."
With the defeat, the Bruins lost some momentum as they enter the
tournament next weekend. The Bruins had come into the game with a
five-game winning streak.
"I’m hoping our team stays positive," Olivier said. "I think
they have done so all year.
"We are just going to use this game as a guideline for us to get
better. When you head into the tournament something that you have
to know is that you can’t take any breathers when you are out there
on the floor. We took a few short cuts tonight and it cost us early
in the game."
Olivier believes the Bruins will learn from the defeat as they
head into the tournament.
"We think that we have not even played our best basketball yet,"
Olivier said, whose team captured third place in the Pac-10 – the
highest finish the program has earned since the 1991-’92
season.
"We are hoping we can put it all together come first round (of
the tournament)."