No. 17 UCLA earns decisive victory over No. 12 Texas, 62-42
By the numbers
- Points in the paint: UCLA 40, Texas 22
- Points off turnovers: UCLA 23, Texas 12.
- 2nd chance points: UCLA 8, Texas 17
- Fast break points: UCLA 12, Texas 4.
- Bench points: UCLA 24, Texas 16
With a backdrop of the cavernous Reliant Stadium for an afternoon matchup, No. 17 UCLA (5-1) earned a win in the Lone Star State taking down previously undefeated No. 12 Texas 62-42 in a doubleheader that also featured the men’s teams of both programs.
“True confidence is only earned by conquering hard things, and we beat a good team tonight,” said UCLA coach Cori Close about the win. “It means something to us because of the respect we have for Texas, especially along the front line. We are really pleased that we were able to defend and rebound and play with great passion. I think that helped us earn a very good win. Hopefully, this builds our confidence as we move towards the Pac-12 season. I am very proud of our team. We have a lot of room to grow, but we beat a very good Texas team.”
Texas (5-1) started out hot holding a five-point lead until 14:13. About two minutes later UCLA took over and the tide turned as the Bruins, led by Alyssisa Brewer, went on a 23-2 spurt and led at the half 32-15.
Close credits her team’s change in defense and the ability to concentrate with the huge turnaround.
“Well, I think going to our zone defense didn’t hurt,” said Close. “But, even more importantly than that, when I called timeout, Texas was playing to their strengths. They were going inside, they did a great job of getting the ball to their big people early. Frankly, they out-hustled us and played with more passion during the first four minutes of the game. After that, I thought we played more consistently and with more passion. It really had to do with focus and energy more than anything else.”
UCLA shot 61.5 percent in the last eight minutes of the half after missing their first five shots. Brewer had 10 points plus five rebounds in that first period and four other UCLA players scored as well.
Sophomore forward Enemkpali had eight points plus six rebounds in the first half for the Longhorns. Most of her offensive production came within the first few minutes of the game. Only three other Texas players scored in the first half and none more than three points.
After the break UCLA came out flat, committed several turnovers and Texas attempted to put a dent in the deficit outshooting UCLA. However, failed layups and missed wide open threes kept Texas from getting any closer.
“Credit to UCLA, I thought they really did a great job of out-executing our team,” said Texas head coach Karen Aston. “You can’t look at a loss like this by the point difference. There were times that we were still in it, so to say. We were making strides. I was extremely disappointed by our effort plays in this game. That has a lot to do with not shooting the ball well. Young kids get discouraged and stop making effort plays when they start basing things on offense. We got really discouraged today. That is a sign of youth, immaturity and lack of leadership.”
Brewer finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jasmine Dixon scored 10 points. In a balanced effort, every UCLA player that entered the game contributed to the score except one.
Enemkpali finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, her sixth straight double-double, setting a school record. Previously she was tied with Tiffany Jackson (2006) for the most consecutive double-doubles in program history. No other Texas player scored more than six points. Imani Stafford-McGee had six rebounds along with two points. Texas did not have the services of guard Chassidy Fussell who suffered an injury in the Longhorn’s last game, a contest against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She left during the first half with concussion-like symptoms and did not return. She averages 17.6 points per game.
Texas did manage to outrebound UCLA 50-45 and tally more second-chance points (17-8).
“I hope they start paying attention to detail in practice,” said Aston about her squad postgame. “Coaches can sometimes see things coming based on how players are practicing. Unfortunately, we may have had a little bit of a cloudy vision of who we are. We need to understand that the only way we can win basketball games this year is to play hard-nosed defense. I am hoping that this is a reality check for them and we can go back to work.”
However, when it came to Enemkpali she was more forgiving.
“The one thing I can say for Nneka is that she comes every day and performs in practice. I think that is why she is fairly consistent. Rebounding is effort. She comes to play every day in practice.”
UCLA leads the series between the two teams 6-4. Saturday’s game had the largest margin of victory in the series for UCLA victories. The game marked the second win for Pac-12 member UCLA over a Big 12 team this season. They defeated Oklahoma 86-80 in another road victory on November 12.
Texas hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 11. UCLA travels to New York to take on Saint Mary’s (California) on Dec. 15 in a tournament hosted by St. John’s.
Additional Quotes
UCLA head coach Cori Close
On focusing when playing with a lead: I thought that was where we grew the most today, with the mentality, the championship mentality. Teams go out there and stay focused. It’s not about Texas at that point; it’s about us having a focused mindset. Possession by possession, what do we need to do to be successful on that possession. I thought our depth was a piece of that as well. We were able to rotate so many players, so we were able to stay focused in short bursts. I thought that was a big key. But mentality is everything. For us to have a focused mentality with a big lead points to our maturity. We have four strong seniors. I think that comes from senior leadership.
On pressure defense put on Texas guards
Their strength is their front line. So sometimes you would think, let’s just pack it in more and make them prove it from the outside. But our guards were doing a great job of getting deflections and disrupting the vision of their young guards. We were really worried about their ability to lob versus our zone. I thought our guards were the difference, in keeping the ball out of the high post. They either saw it or got deflections.
On defense against Texas F Nneka Enemkpali
What a credit to her. She plays so hard. We were able to force her into some tough situations in the first half. She is a handful with her relentlessness and her athleticism. I wouldn’t say we did a spectacular job, I would say we did what we needed to do. Credit to her, she is who we game-planned around, and she is going to be a big force in the Big 12.
On playing Texas without Chassidy Fussell
She might have pulled us out of that zone a little bit. But I think we still would have game-planned it the same way.
UCLA senior forward Alyssia Brewer
On today’s game: I really focused on things I wasn’t doing in other games. As far as defense, I still could have done better. As far as individual defense, I did a pretty good job. I also focused more on the leadership role and keeping the team involved on every possession and keeping them focused.
UCLA senior forward Jasmine Dixon
On tonight’s game: I would say we went out there and stuck to our principles. We were focused on getting better, running the plays and executing, just playing Bruin basketball.
