No. 6 Bruins Open Season With Loss

Whenever UCLA threatened Saturday, Niele Ivey and Danielle Green were there to answer.

The guard tandem dominated from the perimeter as No. 17 Notre Dame defeated No. 6 UCLA, 99-82, at South Bend, Ind., in the women’s basketball season opener for both teams.

Green scored 23 points and Ivey established career highs with 25 points and 11 assists.

UCLA, which trailed by double digits for most of the game, threatened only once in the second half, cutting the Irish lead to six points while Ruth Riley, Notre Dame’s 6-foot-5 center, sat on the bench with four fouls. Her absence opened up the middle for Maylana Martin and Melanie Pearson, who scored from the lane to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 54-48 four minutes into the half.

But Ivey answered a minute later, scoring nine points in a 43-second span, including two three-point baskets sandwiched around a runner in the lane, putting the Irish ahead, 64-50. The Bruins didn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the way.

“I was open,” Ivey said. “I thought I might as well take a chance, and it helped to build momentum.”

Green and Ivey also confounded the UCLA backcourt on defense, helping to force 30 turnovers.

“We started out slow and allowed them to get their confidence,” UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said. “They have some good outside shooters and good quickness. They have a good mix. We struggled with that.”

Martin registered her 40th consecutive game in double figures by scoring 26 points, while Pearson finished with 21 after scoring a career-best 30 in a double-overtime loss to the Irish last season.

OTHER GAMES

No. 3 Connecticut 100, No. 18 Arkansas 64--Freshman forward Swin Cash scored 20 points and had six rebounds as the Huskies (2-0) routed the Razorbacks (1-1) in the championship game of the Four in the Fall tournament at San Jose.

No. 4 Duke 77, No. 19 Stanford 57--Michelle VanGorp had 28 points and seven rebounds as the Blue Devils (1-1) rallied to defeat the Cardinal (0-2) in the consolation game at San Jose. Stanford, with only one senior, opened its season with a 76-71 loss to Arkansas Friday night.

No. 16 North Carolina State 96, Richmond 76--Summer Erb score 33 points for the Wolfpack at Raleigh, N.C.