UCLA WBBall Wins Another Defensive Showdown Against Cal, 44-32

UCLA went into Haas Pavilion today with 2nd place on the line ready for another defensive battle after having a similar style of game last month in Pauley.  The game definitely lived up to the defensive billing.  The first half was a tale of the first 10 minutes and the second 10 minutes.  For the first 10 minutes, Cal outscored UCLA 8-0, with UCLA not scoring until the 10:01 mark on a freethrow from Christina Nzekwe.  However, from that point all, it was all Bruins as they closed out the second part of the half on a 14-0 run to go into halftime up 14-8.  Cal shot a dismal 9% (2-23) in the first half while UCLA did only slightly better, shooting 20% (5-25).  During UCLA's 14-0 run, Nina Earl contributed 7 points.

Cal started the second half on a 10-4 run, which tied the game at 18 at the 14:01 mark.  UCLA responded with an 11-2 run to claim a 29-20.  Cal would get as close as 6 points, 33-27 with 4:30 left, but UCLA was able to put the game away and hold on for a very hard-earned victory.  Today's game set several defensive records.  The 76 combined points is the lowest  for any UCLA game ever.  Cal's 32 points was the lowest allowed by the Bruins since a victory over UCSB in 1984.

UCLA held the leading pac-10 scorer in Alexis Gray-Lawson to 11 points.  No Bruins scored in double digits, with Nina Earl and Doreena Campbell sharing the lead with 9 points.  UCLA out rebounded a strong Cal team 42-33, and forced 20 turnovers while committing 18 themselves.  Just like our victory in Pauley, our bench stepped up in a game where scoring was hard to come by, outscoring Cal's bench 24-11. For the game, UCLA shot 28% to 22% for Cal.  UCLA shot a mediocre 65% from the line, but hit them when they mattered in the end.  I'm not sure if the gametracker is correct or not, but it appears Nikki shook up the starting line up, with Rebekah Gardner and Christina Nzekwe starting over Erica Tukiainen and Markel Walker, but gametracker is never entirely reliable.

With the victory today, UCLA improves to 15-7, 8-3.  UCLA now is alone in 2nd place.  USC will play Stanford tomorrow, and assuming USC loses, UCLA will have a one game lead on 2nd place.  This sets up a HUGE home game against USC next saturday at Pauley.  Game time is set at 11am.  The game will be televised on FSN, but i encourage anyone and everyone in the area to come out and support the team in a huge rivalry game that will most likely determine 2nd place in the conference.  Below is the pac-10 standings at the moment.

Stanford 10-0, 20-1

UCLA 8-3, 15-7

USC 7-3, 13-8

ASU 6-5, 14-8

Cal 6-5, 12-10

Arizona 5-6, 11-10

Oregon 4-5, 13-8

Washington 4-7, 9-12

OSU 1-8, 9-11

WSU 1-10, 6-16