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Get out of my house!

Sophomore forward Kristee Porter has taken the Pac-10 lead in blocked shots. Fresh off her four-swat performance against Oregon State on Sunday, Porter stands alone in first place with an average of 1.72 blocks per game, narrowly edging Oregon’s Jenny Mowe for the top spot in the conference.

Porter, an All-American volleyball player, joined the team in December and has been dazzling fans with her athletic ability. Her natural timing and leaping prowess allow her to turn away opponents’ scoring attempts both inside the post and along the perimeter.

But in the beginning of the season, Porter was plagued by foul troubles due to her basketball inexperience and her tendency to leap up and under fakes. However, she has worked at her winter sport and on Sunday played every minute of the game for the first time in her career. At her current rate she will be the best defensive player in the Pac-10 by the end of the season.

Greco nears 1,000 points

Junior guard Michelle Greco, who leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 19.9 points per game, is within 41 points of becoming the 19th Bruin to reach the 1,000-point club. Greco, who missed the game against Oregon last Thursday due to the lingering effects of a head injury sustained the weekend before at Arizona State, returned on Sunday to score 22 points.

The last player to surpass the 1,000-point barrier were former Bruins Marie Philman and Janae Hubbard, who reached the club last season. It is almost certain that Greco will reach the number within the next three games barring an injury.

Bruins banging the boards

Although UCLA has been struggling with rebounding all season, the improvement in recent games by freshman forwards Jamila Veasley and Whitney Jones has been encouraging. This past weekend both Bruin forwards reached double figures in rebounding for the first time in their UCLA careers. Veasley pulled down 11 rebounds against Oregon, and Jones had 10 against Oregon State.

Porter, who is currently third in the Pac-10 in rebounds at 7.8 rebounds per game, reached double figures against both Oregon rivals last weekend. With two tall recruits committed to the Blue and Gold for next fall, the Bruins should improve significantly from their current last place position in the category.

That’s a lotta threes

Stanford guard/forward Lindsey Yamasaki made nine three-pointers on 16 attempts during a 95-87 loss to Washington on Saturday. Yamasaki tied the Pac-10 record and set the record for a Pac-10 conference game. The 15 attempts also set the Pac-10 record. Yamasaki, who averaged 29.5 points during Stanford’s weekend against the Washington schools, was named the Pac-10 player of the week. Yamasaki and the Stanford Cardinal will be hosting UCLA this Saturday.

Injury update

Greco was held out of the game against Oregon due to the effects of a hit to the head against Arizona State the previous week. Greco, who suffered a couple of concussions last year, returned to the floor against Oregon State and is not expected to miss any more games.

Junior forward Stacy Robertson tore her ACL in her right knee on Feb. 21 during practice and will miss the remainder of the season.

Notes compiled by Scott Schultz, Daily Bruin Contributor.

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