Bruins Give In to Pressure Tactics

For the second time this season, the UCLA women’s basketball team faced a national championship-caliber team when it played No. 2 Tennessee on Monday night.

And just as it did against currently No. 1-ranked Connecticut on Nov. 17, UCLA surrendered a triple-digit point total and found that making mistakes and committing fouls are fatal against one of the nation’s elite teams.

Tennessee, the three-time defending national champion, took advantage of 23 UCLA turnovers and foul trouble for the Bruins’ leading scorers in a 100-77 victory before 14,293 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Player of the year Chamique Holdsclaw had game-highs with 29 points and 12 rebounds for Tennessee.

No. 8 UCLA, which had won seven in a row since a 113-102 loss to Connecticut, took a 4-0 lead, but gave up the next eight points and never led again.

“Tennessee played some good basketball early on, in the first half especially,” UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said. “They forced some turnovers and took advantage of mistakes.”

Those mistakes allowed Tennessee (9-1) to score 20 points off 17 turnovers by UCLA (7-3) in the first half and take a 55-30 lead at halftime.

“I told the team tonight they had to play good defense because UCLA was the best passing team we faced all season,” Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt said.

The Lady Vol pressure not only led to turnovers, but neutralized the Bruins’ two best scorers, forward Maylana Martin and center Janae Hubbard, who got into foul trouble early.

“That was different than any pressure we faced all year,” said UCLA point guard Erica Gomez, who committed a game-high eight turnovers. “There were two, even three people coming at you.”

Both Martin and Hubbard were on the bench with two fouls after the opening 4:21 of the game.

“Our aggressiveness early and the foul situation changed the complexion of their offensive game in the first half,” Summitt said.

Tennessee outrebounded UCLA, 46-30, outscored the Bruins in the paint, 66-60, and had 14 fast break points to UCLA’s four. The Lady Vols also made 31 free throws in 45 attempts. The Bruins were 14 for 23.

“You saw us play really well together tonight,” said Summitt, who thinks her team has put together its two best first halves of the season the last three days. Tennessee led Stanford, 53-15, at halftime Saturday on its way to a 98-62 victory.

The Bruins did ourscore Tennessee, 47-45, in the second half as Martin, Hubbard and freshman guard Michelle Greco combined for 36 points.

“When [Martin and Hubbard] got involved more in the second half, we played better,” said Olivier. “That’s something we have to learn from offensively.”

Hubbard led UCLA with 17 points, while Greco and Martin both had 16. Tennessee had five players score in double figures.

Backup center Michelle Snow had 14 points to go with a career-high 10 rebounds and three blocks.

“Our scouting report said [Martin and Hubbard] were the best post players in the nation,” Snow said. “We wanted to prove them wrong.”

The Bruins had defeated two ranked teams since the Connecticut loss, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 14 Nebraska in November.

The seven-game win streak was UCLA’s longest since the 1992-93 season. The Bruins have two games before opening Pacific 10 play at Arizona and Arizona State on Jan. 2 and 5.