Nov. 22, 2012

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UCLA Game Notes | Notre Dame Game Notes

THE LAST MEETING

UCLA	86
Notre Dame	83	2OT

November 18, 2010
South Bend, Ind.

No. 15 Bruins Knock Off No. 12 Notre Dame, 86-83 In Double OT Darxia Morris scored five points in the second overtime and came up with a big steal to help No. 15 UCLA beat No. 12 Notre Dame 86-83 on Thursday night.

Recap | Box Score

Friday, Nov. 23
12:05 p.m. - No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 19/22 UCLA

Online Coverage:
Gametracker | Audio
Talent: Dave Marcus, play-by-play

Television:
Pac-12 Networks
Talent: Anne Marie Anderson, play-by-play and Ann Meyers Drysdale, analyst

TWO GAMES FOR THE PRICE OF $1
Four nationally-ranked teams will play at Pauley Pavilion on Friday and you can watch all the action for just $1, as the #19 UCLA women's basketball team hosts #5 Notre Dame at 12 p.m. and the #7 UCLA women's volleyball squad entertains #4 USC at 6 p.m.

Take a break from Black Friday shopping with UCLA's Blue Friday ticket deal. Visit the UCLA women's basketball ticket page or the UCLA women's volleyball ticket page and enter the promo code BLUEFRIDAY. You can also order with the same promo code over the phone at 310-UCLA-WIN or in person at the box office on the day of the game.

Just keep your ticket throughout the day and show it at the door to receive admission to both the 12 p.m. women's basketball game and the 6 p.m. women's volleyball match at Pauley Pavilion.

STORY LINES
• The UCLA Bruins face their second straight ranked team when they host No. 5 Notre Dame on Nov. 23, 2012, in Pauley Pavilion at 12:05 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.

• With its win at No. 11 Oklahoma last week, the Bruins vaulted into the national rankings in both polls this week, coming in at No. 19 in the AP Top 25 Poll and at No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bruins have now been ranked at least one week in both polls in each of the past four seasons.

• This is the 14th meeting between the Bruins and the Fighting Irish. UCLA won the last meeting in epic fashion, posting an 86-83 win in double overtime at Notre Dame on Nov. 18, 2010. UCLA senior guard Darxia Morris scored five points in the second overtime and came up with a big steal in the final seconds to help No. 15 UCLA beat No. 12 Notre Dame. Forward Jasmine Dixon had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins. Morris added 17 and Markel Walker 16 for UCLA. Skylar Diggins led Notre Dame with 22 points and Natalie Novosel added 19 in a contest which saw 12 ties and 18 lead changes in all.

• The Notre Dame/UCLA game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks. It is the first women's basketball telecast on the brand-new network. It is one of nine games the Bruins will be on the Pac-12 Networks and one of 12 television games overall (up from four television appearances last year).

• UCLA Head Coach Cori Close is good friends with Notre Dame Associate Head Coach Carol Owens. In fact, Coach Close went to Notre Dame during the first and second rounds of the 2012 NCAA Tournament and spent three days with the Fighting Irish, attending ND practices an sitting in on staff meetings.

• The Notre Dame game is the third of four straight games the Bruins will face a 2012 NCAA Tournament team. UCLA opened up the 2012-13 season with a home win over San Diego State and a road win at Oklahoma. After the Notre Dame contest, the Bruins host Princeton on Sunday, Nov. 25.

• The Bruins will have two honorary coaches on the bench for the Notre Dame game. UCLA All-American (1968), Mike Warren, won two NCAA Championships (1967 and 1968) with the Bruins and was a three-year starting guard (1966-68) for legendary coach John R. Wooden. The other coach will be current UCLA Head Football Coach, Jim Mora, who has the Bruins ranked at No. 15 in the AP Top 25 Poll with a 9-2 overall record and a 6-2 mark to win the Pac-12 South title.

NOTES FROM UCLA'S WIN AT NO. 11 OKLAHOMA
Thea Lemberger scored 18 points for UCLA to lead the Bruins to an 86-80 upset at No. 11 Oklahoma on Nov. 14 in Lloyd Noble Center. Senior Alyssia Brewer had a successful return to her home state (Tulsa, Okla.) with 15 points and 16 rebounds for UCLA.

Markel Walker added 16 points and Jasmine Dixon had 11 points for the Bruins. Atonye Nyingifa just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds for UCLA, which dominated the Sooners on the boards, 56-34.

It marked UCLA's first win over a ranked team and first road win over a ranked team since the Bruins' epic 86-83 win in double overtime at Notre Dame on Nov. 18, 2010. UCLA's Darxia Morris scored five points in the second overtime and came up with a big steal in the final seconds to help No. 15 UCLA beat No. 12 Notre Dame. Forward Jasmine Dixon had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bruins. Morris added 17 and Markel Walker 16 for UCLA.

A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
In all, the Bruins will play seven different teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago and another seven squads that were selected for the NIT field. Additionally, UCLA could face another NCAA and a NIT squad in the St. John's Tournament field. The non-conference slate is one of the toughest in school history and rivals that of any school in 2012-13. The Bruins open the season with four straight NCAA Tournament teams, which started with the Aztecs in the season-opener. Then the Bruins went to Norman, Okla. for a road test at Oklahoma (Nov. 14), which lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. The Bruins then return home to host Notre Dame on Nov. 23. The Fighting Irish lost to Baylor in the 2012 NCAA Championship game. Two days later, the Bruins are back on the hardwood hosting another NCAA Tournament team, Princeton (Nov. 25). After a non-conference game with a local foe, Loyola Marymount (Dec. 2), the Bruins will travel to Houston's Reliant Stadium with the men's team for a double-header against Texas. The Longhorns also made the NCAA Tournament last year. Then the Bruins travel to New York to compete in their only regular-season tournament (St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic), hosted by St. John's on Dec. 15-16, which lost in the NCAA Regional Semifinals. The Bruins open the tournament with Saint Mary's, which made the NIT in 2012. The Bruins conclude their nonconference slate by hosting a pair of NIT teams from last year in Cal State Northridge (Dec. 20) and St. Joseph's (Dec. 31). Sandwiched between those two games is a local trip to Pepperdine (Dec. 28), before starting Pac-12 Conference play.