CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Senior center Malika
Leatham struggles against the Arizona defense.
By Adam Titcher
Daily Bruin Contributor
There is never a moral victory in women’s basketball, as
proven this past weekend by the UCLA Bruins.
Arizona rolled over UCLA 71-60 in front of a crowd of 2,138, a
surprising number when compared to the usual attendance of under
1,000. The Bruins have been looking for ways to win, but keep
winding up with losses.
“We talked about offensive goals and defensive goals, and
the defensive goal was to stop their transition while holding No.
11 and No. 45 ““ their key players,” UCLA head coach
Kathy Olivier said. We did those, but when we do that, other people
go off, as seen by No. 35 and No. 13. And offensively we just did
not do a good job of finishing.”
The Bruins (5-12, 2-7 Pac-10) have lost 11 of their last 13
games. Finishing seems to be an understatement as they cannot even
hang on to opponents. They have lost by a margin of 23.6 points per
game, since senior guard Michelle Greco opted to sit out the
season.
They are not losing games, though, because Greco is out.
Other players are showing up, but Olivier believes not all her
players are focused at the same time. Arizona (9-9, 5-4) held a
33-28 lead at the half, but only due to UCLA sophomore forward
Whitney Jones’ four three-pointers.
In the second half, UCLA sophomore guard Gennifer Arranaga made
six baskets of her own, but Jones had disappeared.
“I dunno, the basket was just repellent of my shot,”
said Jones, after going 1-for-9 from the field in the second half.
“It was frustrating.”
Frustration does not say anything close to what the team is
feeling. They keep losing. Even the opposition pities them.
“UCLA is a scrappy team, but they play really hard all the
time,” Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini said after winning
in Pauley Pavilion for the first time in four years. “UCLA
has had a tough season, and I really admire the way they
work.”
The Wildcats finished what they wanted to do in game plan
and won. Every time the Bruins would attempt a run, it would be
shut down. The Wildcats were stressing their post game, but came
out winners by hitting 46.7 percent from behind the arc.
“I was open and my shots were actually falling,”
Arizona guard Aimee Grzyb said. “The team was happy because I
was shooting so well, even though we really wanted to go inside
more.”
Arizona’s initial plan was stopped by UCLA, but the second
half opened up for the Wildcats, as they hit and the Bruins just
missed and missed.
In light of the loss, UCLA junior guard Natalie Nakase posted a
new career high in assists with 11, but it still did not result in
getting a “W.”
“I am not going to be satisfied until we win,” she
said.
“I do not really care (about the statistics). We need to
make our lay-ups and finish.”