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W. basketball gets first win of

season, 86-74, over Anteaters

Hughes leads Bruins

past Irvine with a

career-high showing

By Hye Kwon

When Nikki Hilbert of the UCLA women's basketball team got two quick fouls in the beginning of the match against UC Irvine on Monday night, the Bruin coaches were looking for someone to carry the scoring load. Lucky for them, center Kisa Hughes answered that call with a roar, scoring a career-high 30 points and grabbing 11 boards in the Bruins' 86-74 win over the Anteaters at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins (1-1 overall), jumped out to a 49-21 halftime lead, thanks in large part to Hughes' dominance over her counterpart Allah-mi Basheer. Hughes had a two-inch height advantage to begin with, and the coaching philosophy of Irvine coaches made it even easier for Hughes to score down low.

"(Basheer) was mostly playing behind me, so it made it easier for the guards to get the ball inside," Hughes said.

In the second half, however, Irvine outscored UCLA 53-37 and made a game out of it with just minutes left in regulation. The trio of Jinelle Williams, Tamera Thomas and Sabrina Roberson were carrying the Irvine team that simply did not give up. They scored 51 of 74 Anteater points, helping the team shoot 51.5 percent in the second half.

When the Anteaters came out of the locker room, they started to press fullcourt and made the Bruins commit numerous turnovers. With 10 minutes to go, the margin was narrowed to 16 points, and the Bruins desperately held onto that lead until the final buzzer.

"They were hustling. They never gave up," UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. "I have to give (head Coach) Colleen (Matsuhara) and the Anteaters a lot of credit."

If there was one area in which the Bruins showed weakness, it was the rebounding category. Against the Irvine team that was smaller in every position, the Bruins had 42 rebounds. The Anteaters had just as many rebounds.

Center Zrinka Kristich only had two rebounds in the entire game, and she had at least a three-inch height advantage at any given time during the match.

Overall, Olivier did receive a very well balanced contribution from her squad. All 10 players on the roster scored, all played more than 10 minutes and all 10 of them scored more than three points.

One player in particular was overshadowed by Hughes' performance, and that was freshman Tawana Grimes. She scored 10 points, pulled down five rebounds, had eight assists and tallied seven steals. On any other night, her performance would have called for much of the post-game attention. But she has the misfortune of having her best night alongside Hughes' career night.

"I consider her one of the leaders on the floor," Olivier remarked. "As a freshman, that's a pretty big role. But she's doing a good job."

As for other leaders on the team, junior point guard Ricarda Kuypers scored 10 points but had only one assist. Hilbert also ended up with nine points, having played in just 19 minutes.

"We need our upperclassmen to be consistent," Olivier said. "And they're getting there."

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