Feb. 5, 2002

Box Score

Long Beach, Calif. - The UCLA women's basketball team defeated Long Beach State, 77-73, at the Pyramid in Long Beach on Tuesday evening.

In the second half, the Bruins took a 10-point lead (61-51) at the 10:23 mark after going on a 12-0 run. The 49ers came back to pull to within three, 66-63 at 4:17, but seven consecutive Bruin points by Malika Leatham gave UCLA a more comfortable cushion, 73-65 with 3:34 to play.

Two straight three-pointers by Jinga Gosschalk cut UCLA's lead to 73-71 with 1:06 to play. A Shalada Allen fade-away jumper with the shot clock expiring increased the lead to 75-71, but the 49ers earned three free throws when Tamara Inoue was fouled on a three-pointer. Inoue made two to cut the lead to 75-73. Whitney Jones sunk two free throws with 14.2 seconds to play to seal the victory.

The Bruins led by as much as five in the first half, 22-17 at 8:40 on a Gennifer Arranaga basket, but the 49ers stormed back to claim the lead, 26-24 at the 5:00 mark with a 9-2 run capped by a Lauren Bull three-pointer. UCLA recovered at the end of the half, using a Natalie Nakase layup with three seconds remaining to go into the locker room with a 34-33 halftime lead.

Allen finished with career-bests in points (20) and blocked shots (three), and also had six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures were Nakase with 14 points and Jones and Leatham with 11 points. Leatham also added 10 rebounds for her second career double-double.

UCLA shot a season-high 48.4% from the field, 57.7% in the second half. The Bruins also made 12-13 free throws (92.3%) and outrebounded the 49ers by a 42-36 clip.

The Bruins improve to 7-15 overall, while Long Beach State drops to 11-10. UCLA will next face USC on Saturday Feb. 9 at the Sports Arena at 4:00 pm.