Feb. 14, 2002

Box Score |  Quotes

Tucson, Ariz. - Riding a 26-4 early second-half run, the University of Arizona women's basketball team (13-12 overall, 9-7 Pac-10) racked up a 77-62 win over UCLA (7-17, 3-12 Pac-10) at home on Thursday night. This marks the Cats' first sweep of the Bruins since the 1998 season.

Arizona leapt to a 10-point (16-6) lead in the first six minutes of the game, which UCLA quickly cut to four at 12:23. The Cats used an 8-0 spurt to regain a 12-point (24-12) advantage midway through the period, but the Bruins managed to scrap back to within six (30-24) with 4:26 left in the half. Arizona hung on for an eight-point (41-33) lead at halftime.

The Wildcats scored the first nine points of the second half to go up by 17 (50-33) in the first three minutes, then completed the run with a 17-4 spurt that put them up by 30 (67-37) at 12:11. The Bruins out-scored Arizona, 25-10, over the remainder of the game, but the Cats had built enough of a cushion to take the victory.

"This was a game where we played brilliantly at times and not so brilliantly at others," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "At the start of the second half was when we were brilliant. Then we let them have a few too many offensive rebounds toward the end. When we went on our run, we were playing well inside and out."

Four Wildcats reached double digits in scoring, led by senior forward Elizabeth Pickney's 19 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Aimee Grzyb racked up 16 points, and freshman guard Dee-Dee Wheeler drained three of her five 3-point attempts on her way to 14 points and four assists.

Sophomore guard Candice Allen came off the bench for 11 points, three rebounds and a pair of blocks. Seeing her first action since spraining her ankle on Jan. 29, junior wing Krista Warren continued to dominate the boards for the Cats, grabbing eight rebounds while contributing four points.

UCLA sophomore forward Whitney Jones shot 6-for-10 from three-point range on her way to a career- and game-high 24 points. She also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and was the only Bruin to reach double figures in scoring. Junior forward Natalie Jarrett added nine points and six rebounds off the bench, while freshman center Sissy Pickett had seven points and six boards.