EDWARD LIN Junior center Malika Leatham
goes up for a shot as sophomore forward Kristee
Porter looks on. UCLA 65 USC 53
By Joshua Mason
Daily Bruin Reporter
For all the hardships the UCLA women’s basketball program
has endured this season, Sunday’s 65-53 victory over USC
(5-8, 0-3 Pac-10) almost seemed to wipe the slate clean.
Much like their male counterparts three games earlier, the UCLA
women’s basketball squad (2-12, 1-2) entered Pauley Pavilion
this weekend the heavy underdogs to a visiting Trojan team.
And like the Bruin men, the UCLA women finished victorious,
capturing only their second win of the season and also completing a
home basketball sweep of the Trojans for the fourth straight
year.
“It’s a huge win for us,” said junior guard
Michelle Greco, who returned from an illness that kept her from
playing in a loss to Washington State last weekend.
“We’re all excited and waiting for that breakout moment
when we can start getting on a roll. We really feel that this game
is leading us to that point.”
Such optimism speaks loudly of the difference one game can make
on a team’s outlook for the season. Though the Bruin women
remained outwardly positive throughout their 1-12 slump, the wear
and tear of a seemingly catastrophic season was beginning to have
internal effects on team unity.
Recent news that UCLA would be without probable starters Nicole
Kaczmarski (transfer to Georgia) and LaCresha Flannigan (academic
probation) for the season was also beginning to weigh heavily on
team morale.
But in one two-hour drubbing of the crosstown rival Trojans, the
old war-wounds of the Bruins seemed to quickly disappear.
“A lot of our players went to the men’s game, and we
were all hitting each other and saying that it was just a warmup
for the real game on Sunday,” said head coach Kathy
Olivier.
“For the new players on our team, the men’s game
really got us going for this game. Just to see and experience that
unbelievable atmosphere and intensity.”
Though the Bruins kept it close with a 30-25 Trojan lead at
halftime, the first period seemed to resemble of many of the games
UCLA has played this season: a hard-fought battle for 20 minutes,
followed by a lopsided run by the other team early in the second
half.
Offensive consistency on the part of the of the Bruins, who
turned the ball over only three times in the second period of play,
prevented any such runs by the Women of Troy.
“My hat goes off to a player like Natalie Nakase,
who’s handling the ball probably 90 percent of the
time,” Olivier said.
“USC plays a very up-tempo defense, and they overplay a
lot and force a number of turnovers. Nat did a very good job of
just leading and keeping our tempo.”
UCLA’s chances of keeping it close seemed in danger five
minutes into the second half of play, with USC holding a 42-33
advantage and the Bruin’s top rebounder, sophomore forward
Kristee Porter, one foul short of finishing the game on the
bench.Â
The Bruins, however, sparked by the steady play of Nakase and
Greco, bounced back and took control of the game.
With 14:30 left in the game, Greco and Nakase each contributed
with stretches in which they consecutively scored six points
apiece, leading to a run in which UCLA outscored the Trojans 16-1
and gained a 49-43 lead with 9:40 to play.
Contributing to the Bruins’ success was their ability to
turn the ball over under a defensive scheme that forced the Trojans
to shoot from the perimeter.
“With our team, we have to mix it up defensively because
we’re not overly good at one thing,” Olivier said.
“I thought the players did a great job sticking with what we
prepared to do.”
After junior guard Camille Norwood and freshman forward Ebony
Hoffman put up eight points for the Trojans, USC gained their last
lead of the game at 50-51 with 5:45 remaining.
From then on, the points all fell in the Bruins’ favor.
Greco helped seal the victory, sinking five of six free-throw
attempts. She finished the day with 23 points, shooting seven for
nine from the charity stripe where she has been so consistent this
year. Greco leads the Bruins with her .883 free-throw percentage so
far this season (38 of 43).
Nakase finished the day with perhaps her strongest performance
of the season. The 5-foot-2 guard tied her season-high 11 points,
and contributed five assists and three steals to the Bruin win.
“USC probably had more of the pressure on them, coming
into the game probably expecting to win, and we just came out and
played our game,” Greco said.
“Every sport here wants to beat USC,” Nakase added.
“Today just shows how the rivalry game is, how physical it
is, and how much each team wants to win.”
And for the Bruins, the victory spells hope for what only days
before seemed a tarnished season.