No. 8 UCLA’s upset bid undone by poor shooting as No. 2 Stanford surges late

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.

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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 surged, 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.

UCLA coach Cori Close lamented that her team’s ball movement was sporadic, especially during the dormant fourth quarter. She said she expected more toughness and resiliency from a group she has tremendous faith in and 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,� Close said. “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.�

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 shot-makers.

“Lina [Sontag], Londynn [Jones], Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, long term they are going to be great shooters,� Close said. “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.�

Those four freshmen were seven of 22 from the field, nearly mirroring the team field-goal percentage of 32.8%. Furthermore, UCLA was outrebounded 48-31, with All-American Haley Jones grabbing 12 and Brink adding 11. The Bruins rarely got a second shot.

“That was the story of the game,� Close said. “We worked hard on defense but couldn’t get second shots on the offensive end.�

Spirited defense by UCLA kept the score even in the first half 32-32.

Jones made only three of nine shots, alternately hounded by Osborne and Jaquez. Jones, a key cog on Stanford’s 2021 NCAA championship team, found other ways to contribute, collecting 12 rebounds and six assists.

Osborne also was cold, making two of 10 shots in the first 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 Bruins’ only basket from the field in the last seven minutes of the half.

Osborne finished with 13 points on four-of-18 shooting and seven rebounds. Gina Conti was the most efficient Bruin offensively, scoring 13 points on five-of-10 shooting, including three of seven from three-point range.

“I like what we are doing on the defensive end,� 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.