WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : USC, Unbeaten in Pacific 10, Plays Host to UCLA Tonight

Ranked fifth in the nation and unbeaten in Pacific 10 play, USC’s women’s basketball team will try to put more space between itself and the rest of the conference when it plays host to UCLA tonight at 7:30 at Lyon Center.

Both the Trojans, 15-1 overall and 8-0 in the Pac-10, and Bruins (10-7, 5-3) beat defending champion Stanford last weekend. UCLA is in third place, trailing Washington and Oregon, both 5-2 in the conference.

The Bruins are improving rapidly. Coach Kathy Olivier’s team ended a 10-game losing streak to Stanford with its 80-73 upset of the Cardinal last Friday at Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA senior Natalie Williams is averaging 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds in her last nine games and is shooting 58% from the floor. Williams, 6 feet 1, has scored at least 24 points in six of those nine.

Tonight, she will be matched against 6-5 senior Lisa Leslie. Last Sunday, on her way to setting a Pac-10 career scoring record of 2,104 points in the Trojans’ 81-73 victory over Stanford, Leslie scored 34 points.

Leslie has blocked 52 shots in 16 games, largely explaining why the Trojans are ranked fifth in field-goal defense at 35.4%.