NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT: BRUINS' HOT STREAK TURNS TO ICE COLD SHOOTING SPELLS DOOM FOR UCLA IN SECOND-ROUND LOSS TO BOILERMAKERS PURDUE 61, UCLA 54.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer They came in to the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX had won six straight, including the Pacific 10 Conference women's basketball Women's basketball is one of the few games which developed in tandem with men's. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast, in large part via women's colleges. tournament, and seemed to be playing at the level coach Kathy Olivier had envisioned when she recruited Lisa Willis Lisa Willis (born June 13 1984) is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Los Angeles Sparks. Willis attended college at UCLA and graduated in 2006. , Nikki Blue Nikki Blue was a WNBA basketball player from 2006-2006. She played in 24 games and played for the Washington Mystics. Nikki attended West High in Bakersfield, California and later went on to play for UCLA. and Noelle Quinn Noelle Quinn (born January 3, 1985 in Los Angeles, California) is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx. Quinn attended college at UCLA and graduated in 2007. - the Bruins' ``Triple Threat'' of All-American candidates - to Westwood. But with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line, fifth-seeded UCLA went cold, missing 15 straight field goal attempts in the final eight minutes of a 61-54 loss to fourth-seeded Purdue Tuesday night in West Lafayette West Lafayette, city (1990 pop. 25,907), Tippecanoe co., W Ind., a suburb of Lafayette, on the Wabash River; inc. 1924. A primarily residential city, it is the seat of Purdue Univ. , Ind. ``We couldn't buy a basket at the end of the game,'' Oliver said. ``We couldn't get any calls. And in the second half, they just got to the line too many times.'' In the end, all UCLA could do was watch as Purdue shot free throws to ice the victory. As poorly as UCLA shot down the stretch (32 percent), Purdue wasn't much better (33 percent). The Boilermakers, playing in front of their home crowd at Mackey Arena, scored the final seven points at the free throw line. For the game Purdue made 13-of-19 free throws, UCLA made 4 of 6. Junior Noelle Quinn, the only one of the Triple Threat who will return to UCLA next year, said she couldn't remember the last time she failed to attempt a free throw. ``It was crazy. That's how I get myself going is to get easy buckets at the free throw line,'' she said. ``I was trying ... but you can't really do anything about it.'' From the start, it was obvious Tuesday night's game would be a defensive battle. In other years, UCLA (21-11) might not stand much of a chance in a game like that, but the Bruins have greatly improved their defense this year, leading the Pac-10 with 10.6 steals' per game. Their two victories over No. 13 Arizona State, a physical, defensive-oriented team, gave them confidence they could hang with a Big 10 team like Purdue (26-6), that prefers to play in the 50s and 60s. ``We're not a one-dimensional team,'' said Quinn, who had nine points and 10 rebounds. ``I think we've improved a lot in that respect.'' Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: UCLA's Lisa Willis, left, and Noelle Quinn react near the end of the Bruins' loss to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. Seth Perlman/Associated Press |
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