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UCLA wins 74-52, definitively outscoring Loyola Marymount in first half

Redshirt sophomore guard Lindsey Corsaro led No. 11 UCLA women’s basketball with 18 points and six assists in the Bruins’ win over Loyola Marymount – a team they lost to last year. (Niveda Tennety/Assistant Photo editor)

Women's Basketball


Loyola Marymount52
No. 11 UCLA74

By Michael Waldman

Nov. 10, 2019 1:18 p.m.

This post was updated Nov. 11 at 9:57 p.m.

The shot clock read “one.”

Fans and players were calling for a shot to be put up.

Redshirt sophomore guard Lindsey Corsaro threw up a fadeaway turnaround jumper that caught nothing but net.

Corsaro and No. 11 UCLA women’s basketball (2-0) defeated Loyola Marymount (0-1) in Pauley Pavilion 74-52 after their 69-63 season-opening loss to the Lions last season.

Corsaro led the game’s scoring with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, converting four layups and taking five foul shots while attempting only one three-pointer compared to six three-pointers in her last game. Corsaro said she was able to use her 6-foot-1 frame to take advantage of LMU’s smaller guards in the paint.

“Our whole staff had talked about how we had a height advantage at the guard spot,” Corsaro said. “We did draw up that play for me to get some post-ups early.”

With a team-high six assists, Corsaro’s offensive performance showed up in multiple columns on the stat sheet. But she said her efforts were matched by her teammates’.

“We came out with aggression and scoring with good purpose on offense,” Corsaro said. “Every time I couldn’t get a shot up I felt like someone was wide open knocking down a shot.”

The Bruins scored 30 points in the paint in the first half, contributing to a 48-22 halftime lead. Corsaro closed out the first half with an “and one” on a driving layup.

UCLA opened the game on an 8-0 run, forcing six LMU turnovers before the Lions scored their first points of the game with 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first period.

The UCLA defensive effort, which limited LMU to 32.1% from the field, used multiple schemes, as the Bruins alternated between a 2-3 zone and man defense.

LMU committed 26 turnovers, five of which came off steals by redshirt junior guard Natalie Chou, who leads UCLA with 31 minutes played and added 15 points in her second game for the Bruins.

A transfer from Baylor, Chou’s defensive playmaking sparked fast-break opportunities for the offense, which notched shots following all five of her steals.

“(Chou) is far better than she even knows yet,” junior forward Lauryn Miller said. “(Chou) knows the game really well, so she’s able to jump passing lanes, and she’s probably the most willing to take charges that we have on the team right now.”

While freshman guards Charisma Osborne and Jaden Owens contributed offensively against Weber State on Tuesday, and the former led the Bruins with 32 minutes in her debut, the pair combined for only seven points offensively on 3-of-16 shooting in Saturday’s game.

However, junior guard Chantel Horvat returned to the court for the first time in the last 27 games after suffering foot injuries. Horvat posted a team-high 26 plus-minus, playing on the interior in her season debut, and contributed six points in the paint.

Despite winning the game by 22 points, UCLA was outscored 30-26 in the second half, as LMU guard Cierra Belvin scored all 11 of her points in the second half while UCLA shot 8-of-28 from the field.

Coach Cori Close said the Bruins need to improve their consistency.

“I told the team we played one good quarter,” Close said. “We got to just make simple plays, play with more purpose, be stronger with the basketball, create easier catches. But it’s a mental toughness issue.”

Senior guard Japreece Dean, who led the squad in assists last season, will rejoin the Bruins after missing the first two games of the year as part of her redshirt contract.

UCLA will host Long Beach State (1-1) at 11 a.m. Thursday in Pauley Pavilion in the third game of its five-game homestand.

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Michael Waldman | Sports senior staff
Waldman is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the men's volleyball, women's volleyball, track and field, beach volleyball and men's soccer beats. Waldman was also a reporter on the women's basketball and beach volleyball beats. He is also a political science student at UCLA from Alameda, California.
Waldman is currently a Sports senior staff writer. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the men's volleyball, women's volleyball, track and field, beach volleyball and men's soccer beats. Waldman was also a reporter on the women's basketball and beach volleyball beats. He is also a political science student at UCLA from Alameda, California.
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