Sometimes, a team at the crest of the national rankings isn’t discernably better than an opponent that recently burst into the top 10.
Other times, though, rankings reflect reality.
And, yes, No. 2 Stanford proved superior to No. 8 UCLA on Friday night in a Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball game at Pauley Pavilion, winning 72-59.
The Bruins have a star in Charisma Osborne, impressive depth and a brilliant freshman class. Yet they are painfully inferior in one key area: putting the ball in the basket.
Stanford (17-1, 5-0) scored nine of the first 11 points in the third quarter, turning a 32-32 halftime tie into a 41-34 lead before UCLA (14-3, 3-2) called a timeout. The Bruins rallied, though, and entered the fourth quarter trailing 51-49. But the Cardinal again began a period hot, scoring the next 15 points.
UCLA was scoreless the first 8:04 of the fourth quarter, missing 11 consecutive shots. Stanford center Cameron Brink blocked five of them and seven overall. The Bruins continually drove into the lane and let shots fly, only to have Brink swat them away.
Kicking the ball out to a shooter might have been a wise adjustment, but Bruins shooters were hit-and-miss — mostly miss.
Coach Cori Close lamented that her team’s ball movement was sporadic, especially in the dormant fourth quarter. She said she expected more toughness and resiliency from a group she has tremendous faith in, and that she sees steadily improving.
But how about simply making a few more mid-range and three-point shots? Nothing ends a scoring drought like a clean swish.
“If we don’t make some of those mid-range shots, they are going to stay in the paint, if we don’t come out and screen and make some of those, it’s going to be really tough for us because they are chasing us off the three-point line, they are obviously guarding well at the rim, and we didn’t make enough of them,” Close said.
Whether this roster can shoot proficiently enough to make a serious NCAA tournament run is a question mark. Close, however, believes her freshman class has potential shotmakers.
“Lina [Sontag], Londynn [Jones], Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, longterm they are going to be great shooters,’ Close said. “I think they are going to be really good shooters. They are learning they have to get their feet set quicker. They are learning how to set screens better, because they can’t just separate like they did in high school. It’s a learning curve.”
Spirited defense by UCLA kept the score even in the first half 32-32.
Cardinal All-American Haley Jones made only three of nine shots, alternately hounded by Osborne and freshman reserve Gabriela Jaquez. Jones was relentless in the second half despite
Osborne also was cold, making two of 10 shots in the half. The baskets came back-to-back from three-point range less than three minutes into the second quarter, pushing UCLA ahead 25-20. Points became scarce from there, however. A three-pointer by Jaquez with 2:36 to play in the half was the only Bruins’ basket from the field in the last seven minutes of the half. Osborne finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Gina Conti also had 13 points for the Bruins.
“I like what we are doing on the defensive end,” UCLA coach Cori Close said at halftime. “On the offensive end, we need to move the basketball to take advantage of mismatches.”
Not much did change, with UCLA forcing turnovers and hanging tough much of the second half, only to falter offensively.
