Photos from Galen: UCLA WBB vs. U$C

There's an obvious but crucial rule in basketball-- when the shots don't drop, you don't win. Today, the shooting just wasn't there, and I'm hesitant to even blame SC. It just seemed like we collectively couldn't make a basket to save our lives. Bruins shot 27.4% from the field, and at times, the game only stayed close because SC shot equally horribly at 34.5%, but the real defining statistic is the free throws. In a heavily officiated game, both teams racked up 20+ fouls, but Southern Cal took ten more trips to the line, and converted a higher percentage of their FTs.

In addition to the (practically) free points, the foul calls in the first half put literally half the Bruin team in foul trouble playing against a physical zone inside, almost forcing them to shoot the long jumpers and hope for the best. Between the fouls and the cold shooting, the late rally to avoid being blown out was impressive. As a few astute fans have noted (*cough* tbb24 *cough*), this team's main issue is fatigue (and depth, which goes hand in hand)-- when the shooting got cold and the starters got tired (and with the threat of foul-outs looming), there weren't many options for Cori Close, but you didn't click here for my rambling-- on to the pictures!

From 20120219WBB at Galen

Corinne Costa goes up for a shot block. She would be hit hardest by the officiating, fouling out with a lot of time remaining.

More after the jump!

From 20120219WBB at Galen

Defense shows a trap-set look-- didn't work here, but it forced them to be careful while inbounding.

From 20120219WBB at Galen

From 20120219WBB at Galen

From 20120219WBB at Galen

From 20120219WBB at Galen

Driving-- the only way we reliably scored points today. Personally, I'm not sure why we didn't at least try it more; it seemed like every other drive play was either an easy layup or a stupid foul on SC, but maybe that's just because the hapless perimeter shooting reminded me of a certain Serbian...

From 20120219WBB at Galen

They eventually spelled out "Women of Troy," but it seems that the 'R' had a little too much to drink last night and had trouble making the 12pm tipoff. I couldn't resist snapping "Women of Toy" for the boundless innuendo possibilities...

From 20120219WBB at Galen

Finally, the (always-classy) trojan fans sunk to new lows today, resorting to bright strobe-lights during free throws. I'm pretty sure this is against the rules, but the refs didn't seem to mind. Click through for video, though the video doesn't even come close to doing the brightness justice.