Oregon Closes Gap on UCLA, 67-58

There will be a Pacific 10 Conference women’s basketball race after all.

Oregon saw to that Saturday, considerably leveling the playing field by defeating 10th-ranked UCLA, 67-58, before 2,215 at Pauley Pavilion.

It was the Bruins’ first January loss, ending a seven-game winning streak. More importantly, it reduced their conference lead to only one game on a day when the Bruins, with a victory, could have put three games between themselves and the Ducks.

UCLA, 12-5 overall, leads the Pac-10 with a 6-1 record, but Oregon (14-5) is 5-2 and gets the Bruins at Eugene, Ore., on Feb. 24. Last season, the Ducks beat the Bruins at Eugene, 106-79.

Oregon had several key contributors Saturday, chief among them dynamic guard Shaquala Williams, who made five of six free throws in the late going to help the Ducks to a 64-56 lead with 28 seconds to play.

Earlier, she made a 15-foot jump shot with 2:25 left after UCLA had closed to within 54-52.

Williams made only five of 19 shots, two of 10 from three-point range. But she made 10 of 13 free throws on a day when Oregon shot 27 foul shots to UCLA’s five.

“Thank God for my free throws,” said Williams, who scored 22 points. “It wasn’t like I was bricking my shots--they were all going in and out. The coaches and my teammates told me to keep shooting, so I did.”

Oregon, rebounding handsomely from Thursday’s 74-73 loss to USC, twice looked as if it was about to fall victim to UCLA scoring runs.

The first was after the Bruins opened a 27-20 lead with 2:52 to play before halftime. The Ducks seemed to have lost some energy, but they called time and came back rejuvenated. They finished the half trailing, 31-28.

Eight minutes into the second half, Erica Gomez made a three-point shot to give UCLA a 46-41 lead, but Williams answered with a three-point basket on the other end 30 seconds later, bringing her teammates off the bench.

Michelle Greco gave UCLA a 49-46 lead on a driving shot with 5:08 left, but Oregon then took over with free throws. Alyssa Fredrick and Brianne Meharry made six in a row, pushing Oregon into a 52-49 advantage, and UCLA never led again.

Maylana Martin pulled the Bruins into a 52-52 tie by making the first of two free throws. But she was whistled for a lane violation when she missed the second, and UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier was called for a technical after she protested.

Williams made both free throws to put Oregon ahead for good.

“The T seemed to take something out of them,” Williams said of the Bruins, whom she described as “lackadaisical.” “I thought: ‘Kathy, go ahead, keep blowing your cool.’ ”

UCLA seemed befuddled by Oregon’s collapsing 2-3 zone defense, with the Ducks’ big inside players, 6-foot-5 Jenny Mowe and 6-3 Angelina Wolvert, blocking out the 6-3 Martin and 6-4 Janae Hubbard.

The Bruin duo combined for only 21 points and UCLA made only three of 16 three-point shots.

“We had some good outside looks, but our shots weren’t falling,” Olivier said.

“On the technical, it looks like I sparked them, not us.”

The Bruins play Stanford, another Pac-10 contender, at Palo Alto on Thursday. The Cardinal is 5-2 in conference play.

Said Greco, who led the Bruins with 14 points: “I’m sure if Tara [Van Derveer, Stanford’s coach] sees this tape, she’ll use a 2-3 zone on us too.”

Oregon Coach Jody Runge, referring first to the loss to USC, likened the weekend to a journey through a long, dark tunnel.

“I’d have to say we’re out of the tunnel and the sun is much brighter on this side,” she said.