Bruin Women Try to Salvage Season

The UCLA women’s basketball team, loser of six of its last seven games, can highlight its otherwise forgettable season today at Pauley Pavilion by ending USC’s nine-game winning streak in the series.

Coach Kathy Olivier’s Bruins, 10-12 overall and 5-8 in the Pacific 10 Conference, started fast, winning four of their first six, then began a slide that even the conference’s comeback game of the year could not stop.

Down 17 points to Arizona with 3:10 to go on Jan. 20, the Bruins caught Arizona in regulation time, then beat the Wildcats in overtime . . . then lost six of their next seven.

“Mentally, we’re down,” Olivier said. “I can see it in practice. It’s not effort--the kids have played and practiced really hard--but now I know they’re wondering: ‘We’re playing so hard, where’s it getting us?’ ”

USC, too, is winding down a lost season. Fred Williams’ inconsistent team (6-7, 11-11), is 3-3 this month, principally because it hasn’t found offensive help to support one of the Pac-10’s top players, 6-foot-2 Tina Thompson.

She has been the Trojans’ leading scorer in 19 of 22 games and is averaging 23 points, second in the league.

When these two last met, Thompson was unstoppable, even by Olivier’s big post players, 6-4 Kisa Hughes and 6-5 Zrinka Kristich. She had 49 points and 15 rebounds in a 96-77 rout.

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Pac-10 Notes

Stanford, unbeaten in 14 conference games, has removed all suspense from the league race. Driving to what it hopes will be the Pac-10’s first unbeaten season since the 1988-89 Stanford team went 18-0, the Cardinal plays at Washington (7-5) Sunday. . . . Oregon State’s women (10-4, 18-5) top the OSU men in attendance, drawing 5,262 a game to 4,467. . . . UCLA is hoping for another 5,000-plus crowd today. The 5,512 for the Feb. 11 Stanford game was a school record. . . . USC and UCLA play host to the Oregon schools next weekend, then close out the regular season at the Washington schools.