UCLA Takes It Out on Washington

Perhaps spurred by critical comments this week by Erica Gomez, the UCLA women’s basketball team settled a year-old score with Washington on Friday night, burying the Huskies, 90-54, in the Pacific 10 Conference opener for both teams before 2,112 at Pauley Pavilion.

True, it was the Washington Huskies (4-9), not the Connecticut Huskies, but it still was an impressively fashioned victory, and Coach Kathy Olivier loved it.

“I think we showed tonight how our preseason schedule prepared us for the Pac-10 games,” she said.

“We played No. 1 [Connecticut], No. 2 [Tennessee] and No. 4 [Louisiana Tech], and sure, we lost those games. But remember, we’ve had all our players on the practice court at the same time just once, over the Christmas break.

“I thought we played well, but I think we can play better too. We were sloppy in spots.”

Washington, badly overmatched by the deeper, more talented Bruins, was competitive for 11 minutes, when it had a 19-19 tie. Then Janae Hubbard, Michelle Greco and Nicole Kaczmarski put together a 6-0 run, and soon thereafter Greco and Kaczmarski made successive three-point baskets to put UCLA (7-4) ahead 31-22.

From there, Washington faded steadily. The Bruins led 44-32 at the half and started the second half with a 12-0 run.

When Olivier a year ago signed her talented freshman from New York, she said “Kaz “could develop into “the Michael Jordan of women’s basketball.”

Friday, Kaczmarski showed that kind of talent. She scored 17 points, including three of seven shooting from three-point range, five rebounds and scored twice on explosive drives to the basket.

Gomez didn’t score a point in 32 minutes, instead contributing six assists.

But earlier in the week she may have contributed some of the spark that kindled UCLA’s forceful victory. Among other things, she accused her teammates of lacking winning attitudes.

Was Friday’s outcome the intended result of her remarks?

“Yes and no,” she said.

“I left open to interpretation, the things I said. I explained to my teammates why I said all that. I think they understood.”

Said Greco, who had 12 points and four steals in 25 minutes: “It was good, not that the article was all positive, but I took a positive [attitude] from it. I tried to focus on it as a positive.”

UCLA, which plays Washington State Sunday at Pauley, has won 26 of its last 31 Pac-10 games, and this one held special meaning for the Bruins, who were beaten at Washington late last season, 96-85, a loss that cost them an undisputed conference championship.

In arguably the Bruins’ best effort yet, these were the highlights:

* The real LaCresha Flannigan finally appeared. The cat-quick, 5-7 guard, troubled until Friday by a sore knee, was feeling no pain. She ignited several Bruin breakaways, just as she did routinely a year ago, and scored 12 points.

* Maylana Martin showed no lingering effects from wrenching her back in practice this week, scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

* UCLA showed off its depth, getting 42 points from its bench.