No monkeying around on McCarther Court

Monday, January 12, 1998

No monkeying around on McCarther Court

OREGON: Bruins beat Ducks in one of the toughest places to
play

By Chris Umpierre

Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA women basketball team has finally got that monkey off
their back.

For the first time in six years, UCLA beat Oregon on McCarther
Court as they edged past the Ducks on Saturday, 80-75, before a
rowdy 4,015 in Eugene, Ore.

The last time UCLA won on McCarther, regarded as one of the
toughest places to play in the country, was March 14, 1992.

That was also the last UCLA team that earned a spot in the NCAA
tournament. After beating the Ducks, the 1991-1992 team, which was
led by perennial All-Pac-10 performer Natalie Williams, catapulted
to a 21-10 record and a third-place finish in the Pac-10
conference.

There is no question that the current Bruin team has the talent
to make it to the tournament. Many preseason polls predicted them
to be a member of the 64 teams invited to the NCAA tournament this
March.

If history holds true, the current Bruins are right on track to
follow in the foot steps of that great 1991-1992 tournament team of
the past after their win over the Ducks on the road.

The Bruins (8-5, 3-1) looked like a tournament team in the first
half of Saturday’s game. Not paying much attention to their poor
history at McCarther, the Bruins came out of the locker room on
fire, as they shot a blistering 58 percent from the field in the
first half.

Their hot shooting built a 10-point lead at halftime.

But the Ducks (6-6, 2-2) were able to use their home court
advantage in the second half as they cut into the Bruin lead with
some hot shooting of their own (49 percent in the second half).
While Oregon heated up in the second half, UCLA cooled off as they
were held to just 32 percent from the field, allowing the Ducks
back into the game.

In fact, Oregon tied the game at 62 on Brianne Meharry’s free
throw with 8:14 to play. But the Ducks would get no closer.

Two roadblocks stood in the way of Oregon’s comeback attempt:
their poor free throw shooting and UCLA’s star-forward Maylana
Martin.

The Ducks’ putrid 45 percent free throw shooting (15 for 33)
continually shot themselves in their webbed feet.

Oregon also couldn’t stop Martin the entire day, who finished
with a game-high 27 points (10 of 17 from the floor) and 12
rebounds. Martin’s numbers mirrored those put up by Williams on the
last Bruin team to beat the Ducks at McCarther. On that eventful
night of March 14, 1992, Williams scored 29 points and pulled down
22 rebounds.

Martin was especially unstoppable in the game’s waning moments.
After the Ducks had cut the Bruin lead to two at the four-minute
mark of the second half, the Bruins went to their All-American
candidate and she didn’t displease as she poured in four baskets on
four consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach.

With the victory, the Bruins are now winners of five of their
last six games.

But more importantly to head coach Kathy Olivier and the rest of
the Bruins, the sweep of the Oregon schools leaves UCLA atop the
Pac-10 conference with a 3-1 record.

Now that the McCarther monkey is off their backs, the current
UCLA women’s basketball team will hope to do something that that
1991-1992 team wasn’t able to do: win the Pac-10 conference.

GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin

Freshman guard LaCresha Flannigan shoots a field goal. The
Bruins won on McCarther Court in Oregon for the first time since
1992.