Women’s Basketball : UCLA Is Embarrassed by Long Beach, 118-65

The once-mighty UCLA women’s basketball team has slipped in recent years, but the Bruins hit an all-time low Tuesday night, losing to Cal State Long Beach, 118-65, before 1,522 fans in a Western Collegiate Athletic Assn. game at the winners’ gym.

It marked the worst defeat in UCLA’s history, surpassing the 40-point loss (103-63) to Louisiana Tech in 1982. For third-ranked Long Beach, the 118 points matched a school record the 49ers set in 1977 against Arizona State and equaled in 1980 against Cal State Los Angeles.

Nine Long Beach players scored in double figures, led by Kirsten Cummings’ 18 points and Missy Rand’s 15, and the 49ers improved to 12-1, 2-0 in conference. Their only loss was to top-ranked Old Dominion.

UCLA, which won the Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championship in 1978 and finished with a 29-7 record in 1981, has dipped to a combined 33-26 in the past two years. The Bruins have not defeated Long Beach or USC since 1981.

UCLA appeared to be on the rebound this year, as the Bruins won eight of their first 10 games, but they have dropped five of their last six and are 0-3 in the WCAA.

Bruin Coach Billie Moore has attributed the slump to poor shooting, and Tuesday night’s performance certainly substantiated her claim. UCLA made just 23 of 72 shots (32%).

UCLA also turned the ball over 23 times and was outrebounded, 52-40. About the only bright spot was freshman Dora Dome, who, in her third straight start, scored a game-high 24 points.

“When you don’t shoot well, it affects every other part of your game,” Moore said. “We’ve been struggling. Our key people have been in horrendous slumps. We either turn the ball over, or we can’t get it to go in the whole. It’s a constant uphill struggle.”

The 49ers, on the other hand, could do little wrong Tuesday night. They shot 65% (50 of 77) and used their superior quickness and defense to secure the win before halftime.

The Bruins stayed with the 49ers for the first 10 minutes behind the strength of Dome’s 12 points, but UCLA went scoreless for a 5 1/2-minute stretch later in first half, which allowed Long Beach to turn the game into a rout.