University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Bruins Rally Past Sydney Flames, 73-69
August 26, 2016 | Women's Basketball
UCLA trailed 31-16 after the first period but only allowed 38 points in the next three combined.
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SYDNEY, Australia – The UCLA women's basketball team improved to 3-0 on its tour through Australia with a 73-69 come-from-behind victory over the Sydney Uni Flames on Friday, Aug. 26 at Brydens Stadium in Darlington, New South Wales, Australia.
The Bruins had four players in double figures, led by junior Jordin Canada's 18 points. She also added seven assists, five rebounds, five steals and one block. Junior Monique Billings had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guards Nicole Kornet and Kari Korver had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
It appeared that a 4 a.m. wakeup call, followed by a two-hour flight and three hours of touring Sydney before the tip had taken a toll on the Bruins at the start of the game. As the Bruins sleepwalked to a 31-16 deficit at the end of the first period, in which UCLA registered just two rebounds, it looked like the night was going to belong to the home team.
UCLA engineered a 13-2 run to start the second period, which began with a three-pointer from Korver and ended with a jumper from junior Kelli Hayes (six points, seven rebounds) to make the score 33-29 (5:07). The run also included six points from Canada. The Bruins trailed 45-41 at the break.
The Bruins trailed 49-43 in the third before going on a 10-0 run to take a 53-49 lead (6:42) after a three-pointer from Kornet. UCLA entered the fourth quarter clinging to a 61-59 lead.
Canada sank a pair of free throws to give UCLA its largest lead of the game at 67-59 (7:28). The Flames battled back and tied the game at 69-69 after a free throw by Tahlia Tupaea with 3:10 to go. Hayes recorded a blocked shot at the 2:25 mark and sophomore Kennedy Burke grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup for the eventual game-winning basket (2:22). Burke finished with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks. Hayes would provide the final points, hustling for an offensive rebound and layup with 1:30 to go to provide the 73-69 final.
Freshman Ally Rosenblum grabbed one rebound, playing 7:38 in the contest while sophomore Ashley Hearn added one rebound and one block in 10:12 off the bench. Junior Paulina Hersler registered three points and one rebound in nine minutes as a substitute.
You can watch the first half of the game by clicking here and the second half by clicking here.
UCLA's final game will be against the Sydney Comets on Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Alexandria Basketball Stadium in Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia. The contest is slated to tip at 8:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. on Saturday in Los Angeles).
Regular updates of the women's basketball team's travels in Australia will be provided on uclabruins.com, as well as the team's social media channels listed above. Videos, photos and recaps will be available from each game and plenty of excursion photos and videos of each outing will also be shared.
