Bruins Barely Hold Off the Pesky Trojans

Getting into the top 25 was easier for No. 23 UCLA than trying to stay there. Going into the Tuesday’s Pac-10 Conference opener against USC, the Bruins had been stung by consecutive bad losses. Another defeat would have erased the Bruins off the elite list and erase a lot of the hard work they did in nonconference play.

Somehow, the Bruins got a much-needed victory, edging the Trojans, 62-61, before 3,501 at Pauley Pavilion. Four Bruins finished in double figures, led by Noelle Quinn with 16.

But file this one under being lucky rather than good. After getting what proved to be the winning basket from Lisa Willis -- a 14-footer, breaking a 60-60 tie with 2:36 left to play -- UCLA, 7-3 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-10, had to survive four last shot attempts by USC (6-4, 0-1) including two shots within a foot of the basket before the final horn.

That saved them the angst of allowing a pair of double-digit leads over USC to dissolve. The Trojans were outrebounded, 43-42, and shot 31.3% from the field, but never quit.

“We felt like we getting ready to break the game open. But credit USC,” Bruin Coach Kathy Olivier said. “They continued to fight, they mixed it up defensively. They hit some big threes. But we’re also winning close games this year, and that’s a big deal to us.”

Trojan Coach Mark Trakh, getting his first taste of the rivalry, knows the Bruins have something his young Trojans don’t have -- a dependable go-to scorer, especially with the game on the line. USC still scores by committee, and needs a hot hand to turn razor-thin defeats into victory.

They nearly got that from guards Camille LeNoir, a freshman, and Eshaya Murphy, a sophomore. Both came off the bench and scored 13 for USC. But USC could never get that one basket that would get them a lead.

“We should have won the game,” Trakh said. “But we are so young and we don’t have a lot of people back from last year. They’ve just got to keep hearing they can do it.”

USC got off to an poor start, not getting its first field goal until the 12:27 mark of the first half, as the Bruins built a 20-6 lead.

But the Bruins got careless with their passes and were unable to finish several layup opportunities. Meanwhile USC found its legs to with a 15-3 run over a nine-minute stretch to get right back in game, 23-21.

By halftime the deficit was still just two points, 27-25. And considering USC had shot only 28.1% in the first 20 minutes, the Trojans had to believe things would be better in the second half.

Still it was UCLA that surged early, building its lead back up to 49-39 with 10:35 remaining. But the Trojans kept on coming.

They just couldn’t get all the way back.

This time.