By Chris Umpierre Daily Bruin Staff
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — UCLA’s game against George Washington in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament summed up the Bruins’ season in
a nutshell. By the time it was finished, its season was over as
well, as UCLA fell to the Colonials 79-72 in front of 5,021 at
Notre Dame’s Joyce Center on March 17.
The Bruins (17-11) started the game lackadaisically, eventually
falling behind by as many as 18 points with 17 minutes left in the
contest. UCLA roared back, though, with a ferocious run that cut
the Colonials’ lead to two with 6:37 left before George Washington
(26-5) put the game away.
"I just want to congratulate UCLA," said George Washington head
coach Joe McKeown, whose victory moved the Colonials to 8-0 in
first-round tournament games.
"We had a chance to put them away and they really battled hard
in the second half and made it a great basketball game," McKeown
added. "I’m a little concerned that we put ourselves in that
position, but as we all know in this tournament, you survive and
move on."
Two key possessions with just over two minutes left in the game
ended the Bruins’ hopes for a stunning comeback victory.
After UCLA had cut George Washington’s lead back down to 68- 64
with just over two minutes left, Bruin senior forward Maylana
Martin jumped in front of a pass to Colonial center Petra
Dubovcova. The player of the year candidate then raced down the
court and found junior guard LaCresha Flannigan on the fast
break.
But Flannigan missed an open layup and Dubovcova rebounded the
ball and passed it to guard Elisa Aguilar. Aguilar then knocked
down a three-pointer that ended UCLA’s comeback hopes.
"I had No. 34 (UCLA center Janae Hubbard) on me so I knew I
would either make the three or not, because if I went to the basket
I was going to have big problems," said Aguilar, who scored 23
points in the game. "So I shot it and I made it."
"Aguilar’s a clutch player," McKeown said. "She has been our
leader and she is the one who we want with the ball at the
end."
The basket gave the Colonials a 71-64 lead and they never looked
back. But the way the first half went for the Bruins, a close
finish didn’t look anywhere in the cards.
George Washington started the game with a 24-8 run and went on
to finish the half leading 39-26. The Colonials’ run was fueled by
17 UCLA turnovers.
"I thought early on we were a little nervous," UCLA head coach
Kathy Olivier said. "We didn’t really start playing until a good
six minutes into the game and that obviously hurt us. Anytime you
give a team a big lead like that it’s hard to come back."
But the Bruins were able to come back in the second half with
increased pressure and trapping on the defensive end.
"They were probably one of the only teams that have pressured us
and trapped us outside the three-point line for more than two or
three possessions," George Washington guard Kristeena Alexander
said. "For awhile they were pressuring us pretty hard."
UCLA’s turnaround was a total team effort as players such as
Flannigan, guard Michelle Greco and center Carly Funicello
continually came up with big plays.
"About halfway through the second half we just started playing
UCLA basketball again," Martin said.
But it was not enough for the Bruins, who advanced to the round
of eight last year and were ranked in the top five in this year’s
preseason polls.
In addition, the loss ended the careers of six Bruin seniors,
including point guard Erica Gomez, Funicello, Hubbard, Marie
Philman, Takiyah Jackson and Martin.
"I think it’s just starting to dawn on me that I won’t put on
this jersey again," Martin said. "These four years have been great;
I wouldn’t give anything back for anything."
"I think it’s disappointing because they are a great group of
girls," freshman guard Nicole Kaczmarski said of the UCLA seniors.
"I consider myself very lucky to have come into this situation and
to get a chance to play with Gomez, Janae, with all of them. I
think it stinks that we had to go out like this."
Olivier also expressed her disappointment.
"I’m sad because people didn’t really get to see our best
basketball this season," she said.