Bruin Women Lose Game and Guards

If the UCLA women’s basketball team loses any more guards, Coach Kathy Olivier may have to start scouting the intramural leagues.

The Bruins were already missing returning starters Nicole Kaczmarski (foot, Lyme disease) and LaCresha Flannigan (grades), and top scorer Michelle Greco turned an ankle last weekend in Albuquerque.

Then Friday night in the home opener at Pauley Pavilion, Greco tweaked the ankle again and starting point guard Natalie Nakase went down in a heap with another sprained ankle.

The result was a punchless UCLA team losing to Utah, 65-42--its third consecutive blowout loss to start the season. You look down the Bruins’ schedule and it might be 2001 before this team wins one.

In tying a school record for lowest point output for a Pauley Pavilion game (the Bruins had a 42-point game against Georgia in 1985), UCLA was completely shackled by a team that had four starters back from a club that led the nation in scoring defense last season.

UCLA was in command early, even after Greco went out five minutes into the game after turning her ankle again and sat out the rest of the first half. She had just two points in 17 minutes.

The Bruins, before 735, went 5:30 without a point. Utah had its first lead at 19-18 and never looked back.

The Utes held UCLA scoreless for nearly eight minutes in one second-half stretch, then for four minutes late in the game. Utah led at the half, 28-26, but pounded UCLA in the second half, 37-16. At one point, it was 61-35.

The Bruins were missing another starter, forward Shalada Allen, who sat out with a sprained thumb.

UCLA plays at Brigham Young next Saturday and plays San Diego at Pauley on Nov. 28.