UO women wilt when Bruins put on pressure: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.

LOS ANGELES - Make it two straight heartbreakers in Pauley Pavilion for the Ducks.

Down to one point guard, the Oregon women's basketball team fought into a double-digit lead midway through the second half Thursday, and seemed poised to upset one of their running mates in the Pac-10 pack.

But a pressure point had been exposed due to injuries, and the Bruins clamped down. Having forsaken a pressing defense in the first half, UCLA went back to it down the stretch and forced a series of miscues that crippled Oregon.

The Ducks committed eight turnovers in eight possessions during a 14-0 run by the Bruins that was the key stretch in a 63-59 loss before 667 fans. A year after Oregon put forth a gritty effort and lost a one-point lead in the second half at UCLA, the Ducks had the game in hand Thursday before surrendering the lead.

"We started to think, I think, let's not lose this, rather than let's continue to fight and win this," UO coach Bev Smith said. "We got really hesitant, and then we started to doubt ourselves in terms of where we were throwing the ball."

Thus the Ducks lost a sparkling chance to steal a road win from a team on similar conference footing. The Ducks, Bruins and Oregon's opponent Saturday, USC, came into Thursday's games tied for fourth in the Pac-10 at 4-3. Only Oregon lost, falling to 10-9 overall.

UCLA's comeback bid was built on a full-court pressure defense. Hot shooting by Oregon forced the Bruins to ditch the tactic in the first half, but they went back to it after halftime. By switching from a zone press — which Oregon had prepared for — to a man press and then back again, UCLA had the Ducks completely out of sorts for five long minutes.

"We just needed to recognize it as the game went on, and we did not do that," UO senior Kaela Chapdelaine said.

After the game, Micaela Cocks was clearly the Duck most devastated by the defeat, and indeed she was at point guard when Oregon suddenly found itself unable to maintain possession long enough to attempt a shot. Four of the eight straight turnovers were attributed to Cocks, one of four UO starters Saturday with at least five in the game.

But there wasn't any cavalry to call on. Nia Jackson didn't play because of a quad strain, and Tamika Nurse played only one minute before injuring her shoulder. Nurse came off the bench at the first media timeout, and was hurt shortly after when a Bruin fell on her during a loose ball. She strained a ligament connecting her collarbone and left shoulder and is questionable to play Saturday.

The Ducks also struggled early, with 11 turnovers in the first 13 minutes of the game. But they didn't have another in the first half, and used a 13-0 run to take a 30-24 halftime lead. Chapdelaine hit three three-pointers in four possessions to make it 41-29, and a Victoria Kenyon layin put Oregon ahead 54-43. Then the turnovers started.

"Yeah there was pressure at the beginning of the game, but we fought hard and had our big run in the first half," Chapdelaine said. "We just need to know that basketball games are 40 minutes long."

Just as harmful as the season-high 29 turnovers for Oregon were 20 offensive rebounds allowed to UCLA. Of Oregon's four freshman forwards, the trio of Kenyon, Ellyce Ironmonger and Nicole Canepa combined for a total of one rebound. The Ducks used a zone defense to frustrate the Bruins in the first half, but it hurt their rebounding efforts.

"We fuel ourselves on those defensive rebounds," Smith said. "Instead of getting the ball out of the hoop, we needed to have gotten the ball off the rim so that we could attack in transition. We just didn't get that done."

The Ducks survived thanks to their outside shooting, going 5-of-11 from three-point range in the first half and 10-of-20 for the game. Chapdelaine tied her career high by making five.

"I've been going through a good drought for the past few games," Chapdelaine said. "I don't necessarily think of myself as a shooter, but when the opportunity comes I'm going to take the shot for us. It was just falling today, and my teammates were finding me."

Last year's loss at UCLA came after a crushing double-overtime loss at USC. The schedule is reversed this time, and the Ducks will have to regroup against the Trojans this time, after coming up short against the Bruins.

"We did fight, but we just made some costly turnovers," Chapdelaine said. "Some mistakes you can't make if you want to beat a team like UCLA."

Pac-10 Standings

Conference Overall

W L Pct. GB W L

California 8 0 1.000 — 17 2

Stanford 6 2 .750 2 16 3

Arizona State 6 2 .750 2 12 7

UCLA 5 3 .625 3 10 9

USC 5 3 .625 3 12 7

Oregon 4 4 .500 4 10 9

Oregon State 3 5 .375 5 10 9

Washington 2 6 .250 6 7 13

Arizona 1 7 .125 7 7 12

Washington St. 0 8 .000 8 3 16

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

UCLA 63, Oregon 59

USC 59, Oregon State 47

Arizona 73, Washington State 63

Arizona State 68, Washington 62

SATURDAY'S GAMES

Oregon at USC

Oregon State at UCLA

Arizona at Washington

Arizona State at Washington State

California at StanfordPac-10 Standings