UCLA
Stanford
#11 UCLA Women's Basketball Falls to Stanford
June 21, 1999 | Women's Basketball
February 12, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The 11th-ranked UCLA women's basketball team (18-6, 10-2 in the Pac-10) lost its first Pac-10 home game of the season after Stanford freshman Lindsey Yamasaki hit a three-pointer with 3.8 seconds to give the Cardinal (13-9, 9-2) an 87-84 victory.
The Bruins, thanks to 35.7% (15-42) shooting in the first half, fell behind early in the game, trailing 13-24 with 11:02 to play behind a 13-2 run. Stanford, which shot 53.1% (17-32) in the first half, stretched the lead to as much as 14 points in the first half and led at halftime 51-39. and eight rebounds.
"Stanford came in with fire in their eyes," said UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier. "They took it to us in the first half, and we didn't shoot well."
A different Bruin team returned in the second half and went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 51-45. The lead was cut even further to 57-56 when Yamasaki picked up her fourth foul which sent Bruin point guard Erica Gomez to the free throw line, where she converted one shot with 14:02 to play. But just after Gomez picked up her own fourth foul at the 12:55 mark, Stanford went on a 19-7 run of their own to lead 80-67 with 7:42 to play. Regan Freuen keyed the run with 10 of the Cardinal's 19 points in the run. She finished with a career-high 34 points.
UCLA made another comeback, going on an 11-2 run to creep back into the game 82-78. Three of four missed free throws by Stanford center Carolyn Moos provided the Bruins the opportunity to stay in the game, and after a LaCresha Flannigan steal, Melanie Pearson hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 83-81 with 1:41 to play. The Bruins were hurt on the next play, however, when Gomez fouled out of the game, and Enjoli Izidor hit one of two free throws. But Pearson came through once again on the next possession, putting in a missed shot to pull to within one at 84-83. A Flannigan free throw tied the score at 84-all with 26 seconds left, which set the stage for Yamasaki's game-winner.
"We gave them too many good looks, especially the last one," stated Olivier. Said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, "It was a great win for our team. UCLA is an excellent team. We just had more time to prepare for them than the first time around. A lot of people came off the bench to help us tonight to keep us in the game, and Regan Freuen had a career night."
Freuen led all players with 34 points on 12-18 shooting. Moos added 17 with 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Yamasaki finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. For UCLA, Maylana Martin and LaCresha Flannigan each had 22 points. Michelle Greco added 11 with six rebounds. Melanie Pearson led all players in rebounding with a career-high 12.
