The UCLA Bruins holds off USC Trojans 63-58

Story by Brett Shapoff

USC's #23 Markel Walker and UCLA's #14 Ariya Crook. Photo by Leon Bennett
T.G.Sports.

Before a big crowd of 8,327 Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, the lady Bruins held off their cross-town rivals – the lady Trojans – 63-58, in what turned-out to be a very exciting game.

The Bruin withstood a fierce 18-4 run by coach Michael’s Cooper’s Trojans late in the 2^nd half, to hang-on and win their final home game of the season.

The Bruins were coasting along 47-32 with 8:59 remaining in the game, when USC mounted a strong come-back to close to within 51-50 with 3:06 left, then only to fall short (63-58) at the buzzer.

UCLA coach, Cori Close, said, “The game was such a mixed bag. Give credit to USC they played aggressively and put up a good fight. We have a lot of respect for them.”

UCLA's #33 Jasmine Dixon  USC's #11 Cassie Harberts
Photo by Leon Bennett/T.G.Sports.

The two teams played earlier in the week, at Galen Center, and the Bruins won handily, 68-54. But, Sunday afternoon’s contest, tightened-up by the end of the game, as the Bruins hung-on.

Although the Trojans have lost their last six out of eight against UCLA, coach, Michael Cooper, had this to say: "It's fun to play in big basketball games. Despite 19 losses we still have a lot of fire and spirit. We're playing the No. 17 team in the country and we have positives that came out of this game."

The Bruins had nine players who scored in the game, and they were led by Thea Lemberger’s 12 points, Nirra Fields’ 12 points, and Markel Walker’s 11 points. USC got big games from Cassie Harberts’ 22 points (and 11 rebounds), and Ariya Crook’s 16 points.

Both teams shot poorly from the floor. UCLA was 22-59 (37%) from the field, while USC was 20-57 (35%). The Bruins went 5-16 (31%) from the three-point line, and the Trojans 3-14 (21%) from beyond the arc.

UCLA's #21 Nirra Fields. Photo by Leon Benett/T.G.Sports.

The game had spurts of continuity and excitement; yet, at the same time, there were lulls and plenty of turn-overs by both teams. USC turned the ball-over 22 times, and the Bruins 18. It was a hard-fought contest, and neither team ever quit.

Each team collected 11 offensive rebounds and 31 defensive rebounds; a total of 42 rebounds each. Free-throw shooting was nearly identical, with the Trojans going 15-22 (68%) from the line, while the Bruins were 14-22(64%) from the charity stripe.

UCLA’s Kari Korver hit a huge three-pointer with 2:51 remaining in the game, which took the Bruins one-point lead (51-50) – after USC’s tremendous comeback - to a four-point cushion, and keeping UCLA from giving up their slim lead.

The Bruins closed-out the game by converting their free-throws when needed; thus, preserving victory in their final, regular season home game. The following Bruin seniors (Mariah Williams; Markel Walker; Alyssia Brewer; and, Jasmine Dixon) were honored in a pre-game ceremony for their final home game.

All in all, the game turned-out to be a nice swan-song for the Bruin seniors, as well as, the fans. For more photos from this game go to www.tgsportstv.com, click on Photo Gallery 2 and scroll down to USC @ UCLA. All photos are Leon Bennett/T.G.Sports.