Bruins Rebound and Defeat Waves

UCLA, clinging to its No. 22 ranking after losing earlier in the week to No. 16 Oklahoma, made a bid to stay in the top 25 Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins (5-3) overpowered Pepperdine, 95-56, behind 24 points from Noelle Quinn and 20 from Lisa Willis.

Lindsey Pluimer added 12 points and Nikki Blue had 10.

Daphanie Kennedy had 10 points for Pepperdine (1-6), which lost its fourth in a row.

UCLA reserve guard Ortal Oren was injured while diving for a loose ball with 2:31 left to play. Although Oren did move her arms and legs, officials took great care to keep her head and neck stabilized as they transported her to the UCLA Medical Center for X-rays.

“When she got on the stretcher she said she felt OK, which I thought was a good sign,” UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said. “And when they carried her off and she waved, I thought that was a very good sign.”

UCLA had four turnovers in its first four possessions, but with nine minutes gone in the first half, the Bruins found their passing gear.

An 18-3 run pushed UCLA’s lead to 34-17. That was followed two minutes later by a 10-0 spurt that widened the margin to 44-20 with 3:26 remaining in the half.

Pepperdine rallied to cut the deficit to 46-26 at halftime, but got no closer.

-- Mike Terry