LaPlante helps USC rally past Oregon, 46-42

For the second time in two games, freshman Kari LaPlante played as if she belonged.

LaPlante made all her five shots in the second half to finish with 10 points and rally USC to a 46-42 win over Oregon on Saturday in a Pacific 10 Conference game at the Galen Center.

Her performance was magnified because foul trouble limited Nadia Parker, USC’s leading scorer, to 10 minutes. Parker’s two points were 10 below her average, but with LaPlante’s clutch performance, Parker was hardly missed as Oregon (10-10, 4-5) scored a season low.

“I told her after the last game, her coming out party, that we were not ready to retire her number yet, that she had to come out and prove she could do it again,” said Coach Mark Trakh of LaPlante’s career-high 13 points in the last 10 minutes against Oregon State. However, that effort came while working from a comfortable lead. This performance decided the outcome.

“Coming in as a freshman, I was really nervous, it was a different style of play, I was kind of intimidated,” said LaPlante, a 6-foot-5 center from Glendale, Ariz. “It’s a little late, but halfway through the season, I finally feel relaxed and OK to do whatever Coach puts me in position to do.”

USC (13-7, 6-3) gave up the first six points of the second half and fell behind, 31-20. LaPlante, who missed her three first-half shots, scored underneath, made a 15-foot jump shot off an inbounds pass, and an eight-foot turnaround jump shot in an 11-0 run to tie the score.

Hailey Dunham, who played every position but center, had a career-high eight rebounds and eight points, including two free throws with 8.3 seconds to play that gave USC its final lead. Camille LeNoir scored a game-high 14 points.

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UCLA 74, Oregon State 70 -- Tierra Henderson has discovered that the bench isn’t such a bad place to start a game after all.

Henderson, a backup junior guard, scored a career-high 16 points to spark UCLA to a 74-70 victory over Oregon State in a Pac-10 game at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins remained tied with USC for fourth place in the conference.

Henderson started for UCLA last season, but freshmen Doreena Campbell, Darxia Morris and Nina Earl have rotated in the starting lineup for most of this winter. Henderson said it was a difficult transition at the beginning, but she has found her groove.

“It kinds of breaks the lull, being the defensive spark and bringing the energy,” she said. “Starting is not that big, as long as you’re in at crunch time.”

The Bruins (11-9, 6-3) started slow for the second consecutive game, trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half. They began chipping away and, midway through the second half, Henderson scored inside to spark a 12-0 run that gave UCLA a 61-55 lead.

Henderson had been averaging 6.9 points and 2.0 steals, fifth-best in the conference. Coach Kathy Olivier said the most important aspect of Henderson’s game is her defense.

“Her defense is creating her offense,” Olivier said. “The more she understands that, the better we are.”

Lindsey Pluimer scored 18 points, one shy of matching her season high for the second consecutive game. She made two free throws with 6.9 seconds to play to give the Bruins a five-point lead.

Brittany Davis scored 18 points, Talisa Rhea had 17 and Ashley Allen had 13 for the Beavers (10-10, 3-6). They combined to make eight of 10 three-point shots.

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