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UCLA Defeats USC In Regular Season Finale, 68-64
February 29, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 29, 2004
Los Angeles, CA - The UCLA women's basketball team defeated USC in front of 8,094 in Pauley Pavilion, 68-64. The attendance was UCLA's third-highest ever in Pauley Pavilion. Sophomore guard Nikki Blue scored a season-best 26 points, including 19 in the decisive second-half. She also led UCLA with seven rebounds and five assists. The win put UCLA (16-11, 11-7) in a tie for third place in the Pac-10 Conference with USC (15-12, 11-7) and Arizona State (17-10, 11-7).
After USC opened up as much as an eight point lead in the second half, UCLA chipped away at the lead and cut it to three, 55-52, at the 5:50 mark after Blue hit a running jumper in the lane and was fouled. Noelle Quinn hit two free throws at the 4:43 mark to close to within one, 57-56, and the Bruins put on the full-court press. After forcing a turnover, Lisa Willis found Quinn for a layup at 4:22 to give UCLA its first lead since the 3:05 mark in the first half, 58-57. The Bruins forced another turnover on the inbounds play, and Blue earned a trip to the foul line, where she hit both shots to put UCLA up 60-57. Another pair of free throws from Blue gave UCLA a five point lead, 62-57. Megan Gnekow finally put USC on the board with a layup at 1:47 for the Trojan's first points in four minutes. After a Blue basket put UCLA ahead by five, 64-59, Rometra Craig hit a three-pointer at the 1:09 mark to cut the Bruins' lead to two, 64-62.
On the Bruins' next possession, Blue once again went to the free throw line for two shots and hit both for a 66-62 advantage with 1:04 to play. Eshaya Murphy hit a layup with 0:50.2 on the clock to pull USC to within two, and Quinn missed a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds remaining to give USC another chance. After a time out, Ebony Hoffman missed a three-pointer, and Blue and a USC player got tied up on the rebound. The possession arrow favored UCLA, and with 3.5 seconds to play, Willis got fouled on the inbounds and hit both free throws to put the Bruins ahead for good, 68-64.
Three-point shooting by USC and a boatload of turnovers by both teams resulted in a 28-26 halftime advantage for USC. The teams committed a total of nine turnovers in the first four minutes and 26 overall in the half. UCLA and USC traded turns at taking the lead. UCLA last led at 3:05 in the half on a Blue layup and led by as many as four points. USC regained control of the lead at 2:30 on an Murphy three-pointer and claimed as much as a six-point lead on a pair of Murphy free throws at 1:10.
Blue led all players with 26 points, and she also led UCLA with seven rebounds and five assists. Quinn added 18 points with six rebounds, and Willis contributed 14 points, six rebounds and six steals. For USC, Hoffman recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Craig scored 14, and Gnekow added 12.
With the victory, UCLA earns five points in the season-long Lexus Gauntlet Trophy competition, cutting USC's lead to 37.5-30.
The Bruins will be the No. 4 seed in the Pac-10 Tournament thanks to a 2-2 combined record against Arizona State and USC. USC, which went 3-1 against the other third-place teams, will be the No. 3 seed, and Arizona State is the No. 5 seed because of its 1-3 record against USC and UCLA. The Bruins and Sun Devils will play in the 7:15 pm game on Saturday, Mar. 6 at HP Pavilion. USC will face No. 6 seed Washington in the 11:00 am game on Saturday.
