Lady Vols still own Bruins

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — The UCLA women played Tennessee for the first time in seven years Thursday night, but the Lady Vols didn’t miss a beat.

The Bruins fell to 1-15 against the Lady Vols, who took full advantage of 26 turnovers in an 83-60 victory.

The fifth-ranked Lady Vols began the second half with a 10-0 run that gave them a 52-32 lead with 16:17 left and virtually put the game away.

“It was kind of a blur. I don’t remember the beginning of the second half,” UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said about the Lady Vols’ run.

“I knew something was going to hit in the opening of the second half, and I think Tennessee does such a good job of going on runs at home. They just picked it up on defense and got some easy transition baskets and kind of broke up the game there.”

Candace Parker scored 22 points for Tennessee (2-0), which had 23 assists and scored 18 points off fastbreaks.

“We’re making points off defense. We’re able to run in transition. We have five players on the court that can bring up the ball,” Parker said. “I’m really happy with how we’re playing in the up-tempo style.”

Noelle Quinn scored 20 points for the Bruins (1-1). She scored 13 in the first half but was held without a field goal after halftime until the 5:49 mark. By that time the Lady Vols were ahead by 27 points.

The teams were playing for the first time since 1999. UCLA’s lone win in the series was in 1981.

Quinn, however, found a positive despite another loss to the Lady Vols.

“For me it’s just exciting. This is like the mecca of women’s basketball,” she said. “Just being here was a great experience.”