Korver leads No. 13 UCLA women past Arizona 69-49
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kari Korver kept hearing from her UCLA teammate Jordin Canada that she was going to make six 3-pointers in a game.
Turns out Canada was right. Korver sank a career-high six from long range Sunday and finished with a career-best 24 points to lead No. 13 UCLA to a 69-49 victory over Arizona.
"I'm just happy to hit some shots for my team," Korver said. "I've been trying to become a better all-around player like coach (Cori Close) said, but a big part of my role is knocking down shots. Jordin has been teasing me for a while that I was going to hit six 3s, and tonight I finally did."
Korver made six of her 11 3-point attempts, finished 7 for 14 from the field overall, and hit all four of her free throws.
UCLA has won 25 consecutive home games dating back to last season and 17 consecutive against Pac-12 opponents.
Monique Billings added 14 points, and Canada added 11 points, nine assists and six steals for UCLA (17-4, 8-2), which won its sixth consecutive game. The Bruins forced 20 turnovers, 13 coming from steals, and Ashley Hearn got four of the team's nine blocks.
Marlena Washington led Arizona (11-10, 2-8) with 11 points, and LaBrittney Jones added 10 points.
The Wildcats lost their fourth consecutive game, largely because of mistakes.
"I think the difference to me at halftime was they had 16 points off turnovers, and we had 13 turnovers," Arizona coach Adia Barnes said. "That was the difference in the game, and the deficit. Jordin did a great job taking chances. They were able to convert on turnovers. We did a good job on the boards though, especially in the first half."
Korver is averaging 8.7 points per game this season. Her shooting percentage from 3-point range is 34.1, down from 36.2 percent last year. She's the lone senior in the starting lineup. Of her shot selection this season, 82.1 percent are from behind the arc.
"Obviously, really excited for Kari," Close said. "All year she's been a little frustrated with her shot. I asked her a couple of weeks ago, 'Would you rather be just a good shooter or rather be a really good basketball player?' I think she's a really good basketball player. Just because her shooting numbers aren't what she wants them to be ... We can't take her off the floor most of the time because she changes the game. She makes Jordin a better player and Monique a better player."
BIG PICTURE
Arizona kept things close but allowed UCLA to pull away late in the third quarter and couldn't keep up with the Bruins' transition game.
UCLA did everything it needed to establish a lead early and protect its home floor. The Bruins interior defense was suspect in the second half, and they'll have to work on that for upcoming games against Stanford and Oregon State.
STAT OF THE GAME
41
UCLA was outrebounded 21-15 in the first half, a rarity, but finished with 41 rebounds. The Bruins made an effort to be more physical inside in the second half.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"We'll get to watch all the Super Bowl this way."
Kari Korver on the benefit of playing Stanford on a Monday night instead of the usual Sunday game.
UP NEXT
Arizona returns home to host Oregon and Oregon State on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Wildcats' last conference win was at home against Washington on Jan. 15.
UCLA hits the road for the next four games, where they'll play at Cal on Friday and Stanford on Monday in a nationally-televised affair between two teams ranked in the top 15.