UCLA
Miami
Miami Snaps UCLA's Three-Game Winning Streak, 74-67
December 18, 2014 | Women's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS – UCLA saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 74-67 loss to Miami in the first game of the Tulane DoubleTree Classic on Thursday night at Devlin Fieldhouse on the campus of Tulane. The Bruins dropped to 3-5 while Miami improved to 8-2.
Junior Nirra Fields led four UCLA players in double figures with 15 points to go with eight rebounds.
The Bruins scored the first two points of the game and led 4-1 at the 19:01 mark of the first half, but that would be the only lead for UCLA. Miami built a 10-point lead at the six-minute mark of the opening half and hit a jumper at the buzzer to lead 39-27 at the break.
UCLA shot a dismal 30.3 percent (10-for-33) in the first half and had more turnovers (12) than field goals (10) in the opening 20 minutes. The Bruins dominated the glass with a 25-16 advantage, including 11-2 on the offensive glass. Miami shot 50.0 percent (15-for-30) from the field in the first half and a respectable 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from three-point range. UCLA missed all seven of its shots from beyond the arc.
Miami led by as many as 17 points after opening the second half with back-to-back treys to lead 45-28 (18:48). UCLA engineered a rally with a 15-3 run midway through the second period, which included the Bruins' first made three-pointer of the game (in 10 tries) by Kari Korver and culminated in a layup by Fields to trim the Miami lead to 53-50 at the 8:21 mark. But the Hurricanes answered with a 6-0 run to push the lead back to nine points and the Bruins never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
Adrienne Motley led Miami with a game-high 23 points, 12 in the second half. Michelle Woods and Suriya McGuire each reached double figures for the Hurricanes with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
Freshmen bigs Monique Billings and Lajahna Drummer had solid outings for UCLA. Billings just missed her second straight double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds while Drummer added 12 points and nine boards. Korver hit a pair of three-pointers for the Bruins to finish with 10 points.
UCLA did a much better job offensively and defensively in the second half, but couldn't capitalize on its 52-36 rebounding edge due to 21 turnovers. It was the third time the Bruins have had over 20 miscues this season and the fourth-straight game with 18-plus. UCLA held Miami to 26.9 percent shooting (7-for-26) in the second half and shot better in the final 20 minutes than it had the first half at 43.2 percent (16-for-37) from the field. But the Hurricans scored 10 more points from the charity stripe, going 22-for-28 (.786), while UCLA was just 12-for-19 (.632).
UCLA returns to action on Dec. 19 when they take on Samford in its final game of the Tulane DoubleTree Classic. Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. (PT).
Women's basketball season tickets are on sale at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310-UCLA-WIN). For more ticket information, or to buy tickets now, click here.
