University of Oregon
UCLA
UCLA Women Edge Ducks, 63-57
01/04/04 | Women's Basketball
EUGENE, Ore. ? The University of Oregon women's basketball team lost its fifth straight as UCLA came back from a 14-point second-half deficit Sunday to win 63-57.
Gennifer Arranaga scored a career-high 22 points in a reserve role and Noelle Quinn added 12 to lead the Bruins (6-6, 1-2) to their fourth consecutive win over the Ducks (8-6, 0-4) dating to last season. It's Oregon's worst start to the Pac-10 season since going 0-4 in 1995-96.
“I think is a game where we battled as hard as we could,” Oregon coach Bev Smith said. “We made every effort possible in diving for loose balls, and getting rebounds, but when you turn the ball over 20 times, it's difficult to score.”
Oregon, which led 26-25 at the half, went on a 13-2 run to open the second half. UCLA, though, went to its full-court press and created havoc in the Oregon back court as the Ducks turned the ball over five times in a five-minute stretch. Arranaga did most of her damage during the 23-5 run, scoring 11 points thanks to three 3-pointers as UCLA reclaimed the lead at 50-46 with 7:31 left.
“They do a good job of getting in the passing lanes, but we didn't protect the ball well at all,” Smith said. “We need to work on attacking the press, rather than being passive.”
Arranaga made 8-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
“(Arranaga) came in and was very precise in her shooting,” Smith said. “She's very quick and she did a good job of taking the ball to the hoop strong.”
Oregon found itself trailing 57-50 with 3:44 remaining, but a lay-in by Andrea Bills and a long 3-pointer by Chelsea Wagner pulled the Ducks to 57-55 with 2:47 on the clock. A 3-pointer by UCLA's Nikki Blue, her only one of the game in six attempts, and free throws down the stretch sealed the Bruin victory. Oregon held Blue, the Bruins' leading scorer at 15.8 per game, to two first-half points and just nine overall.
Wagner led the Ducks with a season-high 12 points, making 4-of-10 from long distance and grabbing three rebounds off the bench. Bills was Oregon's only other double-digit scorer with 10 ? her 10th double-figure scoring game this year.
Oregon, which has struggled on the boards recently, was outrebounded for the fourth game in a row, 43-41.
The Ducks were 5-0 at home entering their first Pac-10 homestand, but now have lost two straight at Mac Court for the first time since 1992-93.
“We need to start feeling good about ourselves, and playing with confidence,” Smith said. “We will need to work a lot on rebounding tough, because Oregon State is a big, physical team.”
The Ducks next take on the Beavers at McArthur Court. Tipoff is Saturday at 7 p.m.
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