Jan. 24, 2013

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UCLA Game Notes | Arizona Game Notes | 2012-13 Statistics

THE LAST MEETING

Arizona (1st Round)	61
UCLA	57

March 7, 2012
Galen Center

Game of Runs Goes Arizona's Way to End UCLA's Season In a game that featured several long runs by both teams, it was Arizona's 11-0 run to end the contest that led the Wildcats to a 61-57 victory over UCLA in the first round of the Pacific Life Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday at Galen Center. Junior Markel Walker had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while senior Rebekah Gardner added 21 points.

Recap | Box Score

Friday, Jan. 25
6:02 p.m. PT
Arizona (11-6, 3-3) at No. 19/20 UCLA (13-4, 4-2)

Online Coverage:
Gametracker | Internet Audio
Audio Talent: Dave Marcus (play-by-play), Mike Sondheimer (analyst)

TELEVISION: Pac-12 LA
TV Talent: Anne Marie Anderson (play-by-play), Tammy Blackburn (analyst)

STORY LINES
• No. 19/20 UCLA (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12) begins a four-game homestand on Friday, Jan. 25 when it hosts the Arizona Wildcats (11-6, 3-3). Tip-off slated for 6:02 p.m. on Pac-12 LA.

• With its first two-game losing streak of the 2012-13 season on the road at two Top 10-ranked teams at No. 6 Stanford and at No. 7 California last week, the UCLA Bruins dropped five spots to No. 19 in the AP Top 25 Poll and five spots to No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bruins also dropped one spot to No. 15 in the NCAA Women's Basketball RPI (NCAA.com). The Bruins have been ranked at least one week in both polls in each of the past four seasons.

• This is the 70th meeting between UCLA and Arizona with the Bruins dominating the series 48-21. The two teams split a pair of meetings last year, each team winning on its home floor. The Bruins have won nine of the last 11 against the Wildcats, but Arizona took two of three in 2011-12. Arizona won the last meeting, 61-57, at USC's Galen Center in the first round of the 2012 Pac-12 Tournament, on Mar. 7, 2012. The Bruins led 33-30 at halftime and 57-50 with 4:55 to go. But Arizona scored the last 11 points of the game to win 61-57. Markel Walker led UCLA with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Rebekah Gardner added 21 points. Davellyn White led the Wildcats with 18 points. In the first contest a year ago, Thea Lemberger led the Bruins with 17 points, Markel Walker had her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Rebekah Gardner added 12 points and eight boards, but the Bruins dropped a 74-66 decision at Arizona on Jan. 5, 2012. White again led Arizona with 23 points and 10 rebounds. UCLA posted a 72-58 win at the Wooden Center on Feb. 25, 2012. Four Bruins, led by lone senior Rebekah Gardner's game-high 21-points, scored in double digits on "Senior Day." Candice Warthen led Arizona with 17 points.

UCLA IN STATISTICAL RANKINGS
UCLA is second in the Pac-12 and ranks 40th nationally in scoring (71.4 ppg) and is 4th in the Pac-12 and 29th in the country in rebounding margin (+7.6). The Bruins lead the Pac-12 and rank 30th in the nation in assists (16.1) and also leads the league in steals (11.9), which ranks 30th nationally. UCLA is also second in the Pac-12 in rebounds per game (44.4) and in offensive rebounds (17.5).

CLOSE CALLS ... BRUINS IN OVERTIME
The UCLA Bruins improved to 3-0 under Head Coach Cori Close in overtime games in her two seasons with last week's 53-52 win in overtime at St. John's (Dec. 16). Last season, the Bruins posted back-to-back overtime wins at Colorado (62-54 on Jan. 29, 2012) and at home versus Washington (79-73 on Feb. 2, 2012).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Alyssia Brewer has six double-doubles in her first 16 games, which ranks tied for fourth in the Pac-12. She has had double-doubles in five of her last 12 games. Markel Walker has four double-doubles this season, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12. Additionally, the two Bruins have had double-doubles in the same game three times this season. Walker had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the 86-66 win over Loyola Marymount (Dec. 2) while Brewer had 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Lions. Walker later had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the 76-62 win over Saint Mary's (Dec. 15) as Brewer chipped in 12 points and 10 boards against the Gaels. In the loss to Cal State Northridge (Dec. 20), Brewer had 14 points and 12 rebounds with Walker adding 12 points and 12 boards.

MISSING IN ACTION
Only four of the 13 Bruins have played in all 17 games of the 2012-13 season and nobody has started in all of those contests, forcing Head Coach Cori Close to go with eight different starting lineups in the first 17 games. Thea Lemberger has started all 15 games she has played, but missed the Notre Dame (Nov. 23) and Princeton (Nov. 25) games due to a knee sprain. Lauren Holiday (14 games) and Corinne Costa (11 games) have both missed contests with head injuries. Kacy Swain missed both of the games in New York with a back injury. Nirra Fields missed the upset win at Oklahoma (Nov. 14) due to personal reasons. Jasmine Dixon missed two games (Princeton on Nov. 25 and Loyola Marymount on Dec. 2) with a left knee sprain and Alyssia Brewer missed the Saint Joseph's game (Dec. 31) with a right ankle sprain. The Bruins have already used 178 different combinations of players on the court at the same time this season. In a total of 685 minutes of game action, the leading combination on the floor in terms of minutes played together is Thea Lemberger, Mariah Williams, Atonye Nyingifa, Markel Walker and Alyssia Brewer, but they have only been on the court at the same time for a total of 56:43.