Willis Takes Over Late, Scores 31 to Lead Bruins

Senior guard Lisa Willis scored a career-high tying 31 points Thursday to lead UCLA to a 79-64 Pacific 10 Conference victory over Oregon State at Pauley Pavilion.

Willis scored 16 of her 31 points in the last 4:22 to turn a three-point game into a 15-point victory.

Oregon State, 6-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference, stayed close in the second half and rallied to within 62-59 with about four minutes left after trailing by 10 at the 9:11 mark.

Willis took over from there, however, converting a three-point play on a layup and then making an NBA-range jumper after a Nikki Blue steal to extend the lead to 68-59.

Three consecutive Willis steals leading to six points put the game out of reach at 75-62 with 2:03 left.

Willis also finished with a career-high nine steals (tied for the fourth-best total in school history) and had six assists and six rebounds.

Joining Willis in double-figure scoring were Noelle Quinn (11 points), Amanda Livingston (11 points) and Lindsey Pluimer (10 points). Mandy Close led Oregon State with 21 points.

The Bruins’ 79 points scored were the most given up by the Beavers this season.

USC 72, Oregon 48 -- Eshaya Murphy scored 17 points and the Trojans (8-3, 2-0) were never threatened after building a 41-17 halftime lead at home

USC had eight different players score in the first 10 minutes and quickly took control.

Gabrielle Williams led Oregon (8-3, 0-2) with 14 points, the only Duck player in double figures.

Jamie Hagiya had 12 points for USC, and Camille LeNoir had 11. Jamie Funn had 11 rebounds.

The Trojans had 15 steals and caused 25 Oregon turnovers.

USC shot 51.6% from the floor in the first half and went on a 13-0 run to put it out of reach. Another 13-0 run by USC gave it a 66-35 lead with six minutes left.