UCLA gets past Washington State, 68-56

Lindsey Pluimer scored 19 points to match her season-high for the second time and the UCLA women’s team remained tied for fourth in the Pacific 10 Conference with a 68-56 victory over Washington State on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Pluimer, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, scored nine points in the first six minutes as the Bruins (12-11 overall, 7-5 Pac-10) jumped out to a 14-8 lead. They led by three at the half and didn’t take charge until a 10-3 run gave them a 53-44 lead midway through the second half.

“We got some easy ones down the stretch,” Coach Kathy Olivier said. “I think our defense makes our offense.”

The Bruins benefited from 31 free throws, compared to nine for the Cougars, but they made only 19 of their attempts. Olivier said the free throws weren’t good for the game’s continuity.

“We’re a team that likes to get up and down the floor and a lot of fouls were called,” she said. “That kind of takes us out of our rhythm. . . . We’ve got to make those free throws though.”

Pluimer, who also had six rebounds to move into UCLA’s top-10 list, was the only player in double figures for the Bruins, but 11 different players scored and 10 played at least 10 minutes.

Katie Appleton, a junior guard from Big Bear, scored a team-high 18 points for the Cougars (3-19, 0-11), making four of eight three-point attempts.

-- Dan Arritt

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USC 68, Washington 52 -- The Trojans had four players finish in double figures for the first time since Dec. 21, getting a team-high 14 points from Nadia Parker, a career-high 13 from Simone Jelks, and 10 apiece from Hailey Dunham and Heather Oliver to improve to 10-1 at the Galen Center.

The 68 points was USC’s highest total since its 73-72 win over then-No. 2 Stanford on Jan. 6.

In avenging a 60-45 loss to the Huskies (9-14, 4-7) at Seattle in the first half of conference play, The Trojans (14-9, 7-5) shot 46% from the field. They shot 26% in the first meeting.