Dec. 29, 1999
Westwood, Calif. - The 16th-ranked UCLA women's basketball team rallied in the second half to defeat 18th-ranked Old Dominion 82-76, in front of 3,139 at Pauley Pavilion.
Trailing 44-56 with 13:20 to go in the second half, UCLA scored 17 unanswered points to take the lead, 61-56 at the 7:08 mark. Freshman guard Nicole Kaczmarski (Middle Island, NY/Sachem HS) scored six points during that stretch and finished with a team-high 18 on the night.
Old Dominion twice regained the lead, first at the 4:00 mark on a Tiffany Thompson three-pointer then again at 2:46 on a Hamchetou Maiga jumper to make the score 71-70. But UCLA quickly regained control and never trailed again. Janae Hubbard (Fresno, CA/Fresno HS) sank two free throws to give UCLA a 75-73 lead at 1:29, and Erica Gomez (Keyport, NJ/St. John Vianney HS) made four consecutive free throws to give the Bruins a 79-73 lead with 1:01 to play. Two more clutch free throws from Marie Philman (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison HS) with 23 seconds to play clinched the victory for the Bruins.
Joining Kaczmarski in double-figure scoring for the Bruins were Gomez (13 with nine assists), Maylana Martin (13 points, nine rebounds) and Philman (12 points). Hubbard had nine rebounds.
"Everyone played a big part in our success today," said UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier.
Martin's 13 points moved her into fourth place on UCLA's all-time scoring charts with 1,761.
Lucienne Berthieu led Old Dominion with 22 points on 8-8 shooting. Maiga scored 18, and Natalie Diaz (Needles, CA) had 16 in her California homecoming.
Old Dominion shot 51.7% from the field in the first half but just 40% (8-20) from the free throw line in the first stanza. The Monarchs ended the game shooting 44.8% (13-29) from the foul line.