Leslie Finally Takes Control and Leads USC Past UCLA

UCLA got its first look at USC’s Lisa Leslie Saturday night, and the Bruins didn’t like what they saw.

They handled Leslie for most of the game, then watched as she took control in the final minutes, scoring the Trojans’ final nine points and leading them to a 73-69 victory before 3,270 at Pauley Pavilion.

The victory, in the Pacific 10 Conference opener for both teams, was the Trojans’ fourth in a row. The Trojans are 6-5 overall.

The Bruins had effectively taken away the Trojans’ inside game, getting Leslie and Kim Gessig--among others--into foul trouble.

But trailing, 57-56, with 6:30 left, Leslie came off the bench and immediately took control.

The 6-foot-5 freshman center, who had two points in the first half, scored 11 of the Trojans’ next 18 and finished with a game-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds.

She put the Trojans ahead to stay, 68-67, on a five-foot jumper with 1:27 left. With 21 seconds left and the Trojans leading, 70-67, Leslie rebounded a missed shot by DeDe Mosman and was fouled. She made both free throws to put the game out of reach.

“I wasn’t really feeling well, I felt weak and I wasn’t very aggressive,” Leslie said. “I never let myself get into the game, but after sitting on the bench for so long I realized what I had to do.”

The Bruins (5-6) handled Leslie well enough in the first half, and controlled Gessig, Joni Easterly and Jualeah Woods as well. They each had four fouls early in the second half.

But the Bruins failed to capitalize at the free-throw line and their perimeter game--usually their strength--was ineffective when it counted.