UCLA Can’t Keep Pace With Baylor

Before its season opener Friday night against defending NCAA women’s basketball champion Baylor, UCLA watched as the Bears unfurled their Division I title banner in Ferrell Arena.

When the game started, the Bruins tried to show Baylor this was a different season. But the sixth-ranked Bears (2-0) looked like title contenders again in a 93-85 victory.

The victory in front of a school-record crowd for a home opener of 9,065 -- including WNBA scouts from Minnesota, Charlotte, San Antonio and Seattle -- extended Baylor’s school-record winning streak to 22 games.

Leading the way was senior forward Sophia Young, who had 26 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Angela Tisdale added 23 points, four assists and four steals.

All five starters finished in double figures, and all of that output was needed to hold off the Bruins, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half but didn’t let the Bears run away.

Lisa Willis scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half for UCLA, and Noelle Quinn -- playing her first game after sitting out the second half of last season because of a knee injury -- had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

“For us to come in and play like [that] in this kind of environment for an opening game was a great opportunity for our team, and I saw a lot of positives out there,” UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said.

“We’re gonna go back home and figure how to get a little tougher defensively, rebound a little more and stay out of foul trouble.”

Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson also had kind words for the Bruins.

“I told our team this would be as good a group of athletes as we’ll play. And UCLA is everything people say they are,” she said.

“We’re also a pretty good team, although we’re still trying to find the [right] mixture of veterans and youth.”

The Bears were effective inside and outside, with Tisdale, Chameka Scott (10 points) and LaToya Wyatt (15 points) making three-point shots and Young and Abiola Wabara (10 points, 13 rebounds) working hard near the basket. Baylor shot 48.5% to UCLA’s 45.1% and outrebounded the Bruins, 44-33.

UCLA led only twice, at 2-0 and 5-3. But the Bruins trailed by only four, 47-43, at halftime and were still within six, at 72-66, with 7:11 left before the Bears began to pull away.

“I know this [UCLA] team has a lot of talent and athletic ability,” Olivier said. “But Baylor is a very good basketball team. And they have a lot more weapons than just Sophia.”

-- Mike Terry

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In selected other top 25 games:

No. 1 Duke 93, Penn State 67 -- Freshman Abby Waner made two three-point shots to spark a 12-2 run to start the second half, and the Blue Devils dealt the Nittany Lions their first loss at State College, Pa., since Dec. 21, 2003 -- a span of 21 games. Waner, regarded as one of the top recruits in the nation, made some accurate passes in transition and energized the Blue Devils on defense. She finished with 15 points, six assists and six steals in her collegiate debut.

No. 8 Georgia 92, Santa Clara 91 -- Alexis Kendrick’s only field goal of the game, a jump shot with one second left, gave the Bulldogs the victory at Athens, Ga.

Tasha Humphrey scored 38 points for Georgia (1-1), which took the lead for the first time with 3:05 left on her three-point play. After Humphrey’s free throw gave Georgia an 85-82 lead, Kayla Huss made a three-point shot seconds later to tie the score for the Broncos.

Michelle Cozad, who matched her career high with 34 points, gave Santa Clara an 89-87 lead with 1:38 left.

No. 10 Michigan State 86, UC Santa Barbara 55 -- The Spartans took control at East Lansing, Mich., with an opening 27-4 run in their first game since losing to Baylor in the NCAA championship game.

Liz Shimek scored a career-high 26 points to help Michigan State win its season opener for the seventh consecutive year. It was the Gauchos’ first loss in an opener since 1994.

New Mexico 76, No. 12 Texas 68 -- Dionne Marsh scored 24 points to help the Lobos (3-1) hand the Longhorns (0-1) their second home loss in 46 games.

No. 15 Notre Dame 55, Michigan 45 -- With the victory at South Bend, Ind., Muffet McGraw became the 27th women’s coach with 500 wins and the 10th to accomplish the feat before turning 50.

Three other active Big East coaches have won 500 before 50: Rutgers’ C. Vivian Stringer, Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma and Villanova’s Harry Perretta.