Cougars Fall Short At Ucla

Pac-10 women

UCLA’s Nickey Hilbert scored 15 points and the Bruins held a commanding 49-36 rebounding advantage in handing the Washington State Cougars a 71-57 loss in a Pacific-10 Conference women’s basketball game Sunday at the Wooden Center in Westwood, Calif.

The Bruins (3-8 Pac-10, 8-12) ran off 15 straight points sandwiched around halftime to take a 24-point lead, 48-24, then kept the Cougars at bay the rest of the way.

Hilbert received scoring help from Kellie Bennett with 11 points and Tawana Grimes with 10.

WSU (4-7, 11-9) was led by Jenni Ruff’s 20 points, while Kristin Erickson added 12, including a pair of 3-pointers.

The Cougars hung with the Bruins for the first 15 minutes, then went cold on offense while the Bruins used their height advantage inside for several second-chance baskets.

Holding a 33-24 lead with a little more than 4 minutes to play in the first half, UCLA went on an 11-0 run to close out the half with a 44-24 advantage. Kristich scored a pair of rebound baskets in the run, with four other players adding a bucket or a free throw. The Bruins then scored the first four points of the second half to go on top by 24. UCLA’s inside strength was a problem for the shorter Cougars throughout the game, both in rebounding and scoring. The Bruins held a 27-17 rebounding advantage in the opening half, including nine offensive boards.

The Cougars played the game without point guard Susie Jarosch, who suffered a left knee injury late in the Southern Cal game Friday night. Jarosch, who used crutches to get around Saturday and Sunday, will have the knee injury re-evaluated today after returning to Pullman. She underwent reconstructive surgery to the same knee (left) in 1991.

UCLA 71, WSU 57

WASHINGTON ST. (11-9)

Wight 1-7 2-2 5, Ellis 4-12 1-2 9, Saneholtz 0-9 5-7 5, Kronberger 1-4 1-2 4, Ruff 7-16 4-7 20, Erickson 4-14 2-2 12, Evans 0-1 2-3 2, Whaley 0-0 0-0 0, Kunze 0-0 0-1 0, Keith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-63 17-26 57.

UCLA (8-12)

Grimes 5-6 0-0 10, Bennett 4-9 2-2 11, Hughes 3-6 1-4 7, Kuypers 2-6 0-1 5, Hilbert 7-10 0-0 15, Oenning 1-1 0-0 3, Kristich 2-5 4-4 8, Collins 0-5 2-4 2, Veasley 2-2 1-4 5, Arredondo 2-4 1-1 5. Totals 28-54 11-20 71.

Halftime-UCLA 44, Washington St. 24. 3-Point goals- Washington St. 6-14 (Ruff 2-2, Erickson 2-6, Kronberger 1-2, Wight 1-4), UCLA 4-9 (Bennett 1-1, Oenning 1-1, Hilbert 1-2, Kuypers 1-3, Arredondo 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Washington St. 36 (Ellis, Ruff 7 each), UCLA 49 (Kristich 8). Assists-Washington St. 10 (Kronberger, Ruff 5 each), UCLA 14 (Arredondo 4). Total fouls- Washington St. 18, UCLA 22. A-384.

(12) Washington 75, (22) USC 72

In Los Angeles, Rhonda Smith scored 25 points and Shannon Kelly hit three consecutive 3-pointers to lift the Huskies (9-2, 19-5) over the Trojans (6-5, 13-6).

WASHINGTON (19-5)

Gonsalves 1-5 0-0 2, Lewis 2-4 1-4 5, Smith 10-21 5-7 25, Foucade 6-12 2-3 14, Kelly 7-10 0-0 18, Pelz 0-3 0-0 0, Savasta 2-3 0-0 5, Wusching 1-4 0-0 2, Perkins 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 31-64 8-14 75.

SOUTHERN CAL (13-6)

Thompson 13-17 3-4 29, Anton 0-6 0-0 0, Campbell 4-13 6-7 14, Jackson 0-3 1-2 1, Shields 3-9 6-7 12, Gomez 4-14 4-6 12, Kartz 0-0 0-0 0, Porter 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 26-64 20-26 72.

Halftime-Washington 34, Southern Cal 33. 3-Point goals- Washington 5-10 (Kelly 4-6, Savasta 1-1, Smith 0-1, Foucade 0-1, Wusching 0-1), Southern Cal 0-5 (Thompson 0-1, Anton 0-2, Gomez 0-2). Fouled out-Gonsalves, Pelz. Rebounds-Washington 38 (Smith, Pelz 7), Southern Cal 42 (Campbell 15). Assists- Washington 19 (Foucade 9), Southern Cal 13 (Anton 5). Total fouls-Washington 24, Southern Cal 15. A-690.