MINDY ROSS/ Daily Bruin Senior Staff Kristee
Porter avoids a Georgia defender on her way to two points.
Arizona State 78 UCLA 68 WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL vs. Saturday 4 PM Pauly Pavillion RADIO: 1150
AM
By Joshua Mason
Daily Bruin Reporter
UCLA may have lost its Pauley matchup against the Sun Devils
Thursday night, 78-68, but for the Bruin women, hope is in the
air.
“We’re better than our record shows,” said
head coach Kathy Olivier, whose team overturned an 11-point
first-half deficit to retake the lead midway into the second period
of play.
“We did a good job getting the ball to the basket against
their defense, but we just couldn’t finish.”
Though the Bruins slide once again to the bottom of the Pac-10
with a 1-3 conference record (2-13 overall), many positives
surfaced for the Bruins in their loss to Arizona State.
Strong performances by two-sport athletes Kristee Porter and
Whitney Jones emphasized improvements in their game since their
return to the basketball court ““ neither allowed a turnover
throughout the game.
Though the two starting forwards combined for only two points
and 16 minutes of play in the first period due to foul trouble,
they took control of the second half, combining for 22 points in a
strong second-half run that put the Bruins on top 53-52 with 8:20
to play in the game.
“The thing that makes (Porter and Jones) such effective
players is the fact that they don’t try to do too
much,” Olivier said.
“Both of them had great games offensively and defensively.
Since they both finished with only three and two fouls, I kind of
regret pulling them in the first half. They might have been able to
do more.”
Despite being outscored, the Bruins witnessed new sparks in
their offense, having scored 68 points against a stingy Sun Devil
team that leads the conference in scoring defense at a 58.8 clip.
In contrast, No. 2 Tennessee was held to only 67 points by Arizona
State.
“They play a zone defense that turns everything into a
slow-moving game,” Olivier said. “In the second half we
controlled the tempo and I think that’s how we made a run and
did the things we did. We didn’t let them just sit back in
their zone.”
“This is a team that gives up 58 points a game, and
we’re a team that usually shoots maybe 54. It’s
something to be excited about, because the Pac-10 might be a closer
conference than most might have expected.”
The 53-52 advantage in the second period didn’t last
long.
Consecutive three-pointers by Arizona State senior Natalie
Tucker and freshman Betsy Boardman gave the Sun Devils a 59-55 lead
and seemed to demolish the momentum that UCLA fought to obtain in
its dramatic 26-14 run to open the second half.
The Bruins managed to take two more leads before Arizona State
took control for good, this time with three pointers coming from
sophomore Brett Leonard and junior Amanda Levens to put the Sun
Devils on top 73-66 with 2:18 to play.
“We had the tempo going and we still pushed through
defensively,” said junior guard Michelle Greco, who led the
Bruins with 22 points. “The effort was there; the two threes
were what killed us.”
UCLA was also hampered in its second half control because it
lacked starting point guard Natalie Nakase, who was pulled 10
minutes into the second period when she received her fourth foul.
Nakase sat out a good five minutes of play, and didn’t return
until the Sun Devils regained the lead, when only 4:40 remained on
the clock.
“Nat’s playing very good basketball right
now,” Olivier said. “Though I don’t think we were
hurt offensively without her in there, her presence does take a lot
of pressure off of everyone else.
“With her not in the game, we lost a lot of leadership on
the floor, and things might have turned out differently had things
not worked the way they did,” Olivier added.
Two foul shots by Melody Johnson with 15 seconds remaining put
the game out of reach for the Bruins, ending a chance to win two
games in a two for the first time this season.
Four Sun Devil starters finished the day scoring in
double-digits. Junior Cian Carvalho led the way with 16 points,
Tucker tallied 15, sophomore Brett Leonard scored 12 and Melody
Johnson contributed 10.
In light of other performances throughout the Pac-10,
particularly first-place Arizona’s 81-67 loss to USC on
Thursday, the Bruin women find solitude in their fate against
future opponents.
“We’re getting a lot better as the season goes
on,” Olivier said. “The team is meshing together and
everyone seems to be finding their niche.”
Greco, who has led the team throughout the year, feels confident
in the fact that the Bruins nearly won a game in which their top
players weren’t at the top of their games.
“In terms of my own game, I wasn’t very happy with
my entire performance,” Greco said. “I felt like my
jump shot was short, and that’s my favorite shot. It’s
frustrating to continually miss that over and over again, and I
just need to get back in the flow that I’m used
to.”
The Bruins will match up with the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday.
A week ago the Bruins beat USC, who defeated Arizona (14-3, 4-1)
Thursday night.
“In terms of heart, I don’t see much of a difference
between this team and the UCLA volleyball team, even though their
records contrast in regards to record,” said Porter, who
finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds.