The California Golden Bears scored eight points in the first half and lost to UCLA 44-32. The Bruins beat Cal at its own game, employing a stifling defense and rebounding to dismantle Cal’s offense.
Cal shot an anemic 21.7%, with a disastrous 8.7% in the first half. Alexis Gray-Lawson was the only player to manage double-figure scoring, with 11 points.
UCLA also struggled from the field with 27.5% shooting. Nina Earl and Doreena Campbell each tallied 9 points.
“Sorry you all had to watch that,” said Cal head coach Joanne Boyle.
Cal set several records for offensive futility with the performance, including the fewest points in a half ever by a Cal team. It was also the fewest points UCLA has allowed since 1984.
“I thought we got out-toughed,” said Boyle, never once to mince words. “We did a good job defensively, but offensively, I thought we were scared, we didn’t want the responsibility. We had players just hide. We had players not show up. And we got out-toughed. We got so many balls ripped out of our hands, abused on the boards. We got manhandled.”
UCLA pounded Cal on the glass, 42-33, and especially in the second half (21-14 advantage). Forward Jasmine Dixon grabbed seven boards to go with six points.
Yet it was Cal’s defense that set the tone early, as the Bears held UCLA scoreless for the first 9:54 of the game, stifling the Bruins with in-your-face defense. Whenever UCLA got the ball inside, there was another wave of defenders waiting.
Unfortunately, the Bears could not do much on offense, slowed by the UCLA press and hurrying shots to manage only an 8-0 lead.
“If we had hit a couple of shots from the outside in the first half, that might have helped,” said Boyle.
Boyle tried to change her line-up to boost her outside shooting against the zone, but to no avail. And unfortunately, Cal’s defense then suffered, and UCLA took advantage.
“Maybe we should have pressed a little earlier,” mused Boyle. “But our defense was good. When people are trapping you, you just have to move the ball. And people have to make shots. Post players have to want the ball on the block. We had people hiding and not wanting to be big or be a presence. That makes you play back on your heels.”
UCLA began to pound the ball inside to Jasmine Dixon. Dixon’s toughness and willingness to take shots softened the Cal defense, and the Bruins’ shots began to fall, with Nina Earl tallying six in a row.
Cal’s looked hesitant on offense, repeatedly turning the ball over, getting swatted, or clanging jumpers at the end of the shot clock. Cal was unable to push the ball, as UCLA repeatedly got back and set up their zone. Even fast-break opportunities came up blank. For the half, Cal finished with 8 points on two of 23 shooting. Cal ended the half down 14-8.
The 22 points were the fewest for a half in an NCAA game since January 27, 2001 (Radford vs. Liberty).
“They were play-calling so much, which wasn’t what we needed,” said Boyle. “We needed to move the ball and flash hard to the high post and get Lexi out of those trapping situations. All we did was dribble, and we jogged to spots. They weren’t letting us run our stuff; they’re a good team, they’re not going to let you do that. So you have to exploit them other ways. Make them pay for pressing. Make them pay for trapping. No one wanted that responsibility.”
The offensive futility continued to start the second half, with Cal committing an over-and-back and UCLA turning the ball over on consecutive possessions. Layshia Clarendon finally broke the Cal drought with a baseline jumper at 18:54.
Rachelle Federico came off the bench to give Cal a lift, hitting a three to pull Cal to 16-13. Federico then walls off Erica Tukiainen on a Gray-Lawson fast-break, earning Gray-Lawson a trip to the free-throw line. Another Gray-Lawson score tied the score at 18.
UCLA came right back with an 11-2 run, powered by hustle and press-breaking and tough rebounding. UCLA gave Cal no easy shots, and Jasmine Dixon did her Ashley Walker impression inside, overpowering her defender for a lay-in and a UCLA 29-20 lead.
In this game, with the way Cal was playing, a nine-point lead was as good as game-over. Federico hit another three with 4:34 left to pull Cal to 33-27, but UCLA’s constant harassment and hustle had broken the Bears’ spirit, and Cal never got any closer.
The poor performance against the Bruins was especially perplexing in light of how Cal out-hustled and out-toughed USC two nights ago.
“UCLA is different than USC,” explained Boyle. “Our kids feel they match up well against USC. UCLA is a physical team, and USC is more a finesse team, so we can handle that. UCLA is physical, and they’re tough and they’re athletic, and unless you want to play that way… you can’t play the same way. You have to change your mindset. We want to play against teams we match up well against, and it’s much harder to play teams that you don’t necessarily match up and you have to decide that you have to play harder, and we just didn’t show up, offensively.”
Cal wasted the opportunity to move into a tie for second place in the Pac-10, dropping to 6-5 (12-10 overall). UCLA moves to 8-3 (15-7).
“I told them, ‘You have so much potential to control your own destiny. Arizona State lost to Washington tonight. You had another chance.’ Not that you should be watching other teams, but why isn’t it us who take advantage of something like that, especially at home? But I’ll keep coaching ‘em. You just have to prepare for the next game.”
After four straight home games, Cal hits the road to take on Washington State (2/12) and Washington (2/14).
NOTES:
* The previous Cal low for points in a half was the game immediately following the the death of Alisa Lewis (10 points against USC).
* The attendance was 2249.
* For a team known for its offensive rebounding, Cal had only six. Perhaps more revealing was the fact that the Bears had zero 2nd chance points.
* The Cal front line combined for six points (two for 16 from the field; two of six from the line).
