Jan. 20, 2001
LOS ANGELES - The UCLA women's basketball team scored a 59-56 overtime win over 19th-ranked Arizona on Saturday evening in a Pac-10 game played in Pauley Pavilion before a crowd of 1,429 . Junior guard Michelle Greco, the conference's leading scorer (19 points per game) registered her 28th and 29th points of the game on a pair of free throws with five seconds left in the overtime to clinch the victory for UCLA which upped its records to 3-13, 2-3. Arizona had one last chance, but freshman guard Aimee Grzyb's subsequent 30-foot shot fell short and the buzzer sounded during the battle for the rebound. The Wildcats lost their second straight game in Los Angeles and saw their record drop to 14-4, 4-2.
UCLA held a 57-53 advantage following a Greco basket with 2:35 to play in the overtime period. Arizona cut the lead to two on a shot in the lane from sophomore forward Krista Warren at the 2:24 mark. Arizona's Tysell Bozeman, a junior guard, hit one of two free throws with 1:27 to play to make the score 57-56. The teams traded missed shots from the field before Greco managed to grab the rebound of her errant jumper and was fouled. After a Wildcat timeout, she hit both free throws of the two-shot bonus opportunity to give the Bruins a three-point margin. After a UCLA timeout, Arizona had to go the length of the court, and Grzyb's running shot, which could have tied the game, fell short.
The teams were tied at 53 at the end of regulation. Bozeman knotted the game at 51 with a jump shot at the 1:17 mark. UCLA's Kristee Porter scored on a lay-in after a bullet pass from point guard Natalie Nakase with 54 seconds on the clock. Once again, Bozeman had the answer for Arizona, as her jump shot with 33 seconds left found the net to even the score at 53-all. UCLA ran the clock down for a last shot, and freshman forward Whitney Jones misfired on a jump shot from the left baseline, and the final seconds of regulation ticked off during the scramble for the rebound.
Bozeman led Arizona with 17 points for the game. Warren added 11 points and nine boards. Porter chipped in with 11 points and a game-high and career-best 16 rebounds for UCLA. Jones was also in double figures with 11 points for the Bruins, who play next on the road at Oregon State on Thursday. Arizona will next play at Arizona State on Saturday, Jan. 27.