Monday, March 16, 1998
UCLA leave Big Dance heartbroken
Loss to Alabama in final second creates controversy
By Stanley L. Johnson, Jr.
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Whoever said that time is not of the essence
lied. With less than .8 of a second remaining in regulation, the
No. 7-seeded UCLA women’s basketball team suffered a controversial
75-74 loss to No. 2-seed University of Alabama, ending their chance
of advancing to the Sweet 16 of the 1998 NCAA Tournament Sunday at
Coleman Coliseum.
The controversy began after the Crimson Tide’s Latoya Caudle hit
an 18-footer with less than .8 seconds to go. What became the topic
of discussion stemmed from a Britney Ezelle pass that was touched
twice by two Bruin defenders before landing in Caudle’s hand. Since
the ball was touched twice, the .8 of a second should have elapsed,
which would cleary have given the Bruins the victory.
UCLA’s head coach Kathy Olivier expressed her sentiments about
the controversy.
"I am not convinced that the tape shows that they won," Olivier
said.
The final decision was made by Tina Cheatham, a representative
from the NCAA. In a telephone conversation with Mary Weston, the
Supervisor for Officiating for the NCAA Championships, Cheatham
expressed that the rules could not be changed once the officials
ended the game.
"You cannot go back and change what the officials reported,"
Cheatham said. "We cannot go back and view the entire 28 minutes of
the tape."
Rule No. 2, Section 5 of the "NCAA’s Men’s and Women’s
Basketball Rules and Interpretations" handbook on "Officials and
Their Duties" states that "Replay equipment or television
monitoring may be used only in situations involved in preventing or
rectifying a scorer’s or timer’s mistake or malfunctioning game or
shot clocks and to determine if a fight occurred and those
individuals who participated in a fight.
"Officials may not use replay equipment for judgement calls such
as who fouled, basket interference or goaltending, release of the
ball before the sounding of the horn, etc."
Sophomore Maylana Martin, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the
second half, felt as though the decision was not a fair one.
"I know that we won," Martin said. "If we were at home, then
things would have turned out differently."
From the start of the game, the Bruins had to face several
obstacles. Playing in front of more than 3,000 Crimson Tide fans
didn’t help the situation. However, the Bruins displayed the
tenacity and gut-wrenching team play that had brought them all the
way from not having a preseason ranking to becoming the
No.25-ranked team in the nation.
Junior Janae Hubbard led the Bruins with 19 points, shooting 8
of 12 from the field. In the first half, Hubbard dominated
6-foot-2-inch senior Tausha Mills. In what was supposed to be the
battle of the "giant" centers, Hubbard out-rebounded and outscored
Mills, who ended the game with 12 points.
The Bruins had a 41-28 lead going into halftime. The Crimson
Tide came out of the locker room on fire, sparking a 9-0 run led by
senior Dominique Canty, who finished with a game high of 28
points.
University of Alabama’s head coach Rick Moody was indifferent
about the decision and felt as though his team played exceptionally
well.
"I thought our basketball team set the tempo early," Moody said.
"We got going early with our defense. We were able to generate
turnovers into points on the offensive end. Hopefully, we’ll be
ready to play Sunday night (against Notre Dame)."
Many fans expressed disbelief in the final decision. Ed Kelley,
a resident of Meridian, Miss., who came to support the Crimson
Tide, felt as though UCLA was cheated out of a victory.
"We do things a little bit different in the South," Kelley said.
"I feel that the officials were wrong all night, and they are the
ones to blame"
Frank Lassiter, sports director of WVUA Radio in Tuscaloosa,
shared similar sentiments.
"It seems impossible with less than .8 of a second left, that
one can throw the ball the length of the court, have it touch the
hands of someone else, and end in the hands of another player who
then turns around and makes another shot," Lassiter said.
* * *
The Bruins defeated the University of Michigan 65-58 in the
first round Friday night. Martin led the team with 16 points, and
sophomores Melanie Pearson and Jannae Hubbard scored 15 and 12
points, respectively.
Junior Maylana Martin was named a finalist for the Division 1
Kodak Women’s All-America Basketball team.
The Associated Press
UCLA’s Marie Philman (right) charges past Alabama’s Brittney
Ezell.