LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Despite its 11th straight loss to Tennessee, UCLA was encouraged by its performance.

Tamika Catchings had 28 points and 13 rebounds as fifth-ranked Tennessee beat No. 4 UCLA 88-77 Sunday.

	Michelle Snow, right, grabs the rebound from UCLA's Maylana Martin while Kristen Clement helps.

"I felt like our team felt like it should have won," said UCLA coach Kathy Olivier. "That was a good feeling. I don't think in the past we felt like that."

It was the Bruins' closest game against the Lady Vols since a a 68-64 loss in 1985. Last season, UCLA lost to Tennessee 100-77.

"I thought we did a good job," Olivier said. "I felt we were a little tentative in the first half. (Tennessee's reputation) makes you a little tentative. When we started getting our act together, we played much better and were aggressive offensively."

UCLA never led and there was only one tie, 3-3. The Bruins pulled within one three times in the second half, the final time at 50-49, but two baskets by Catchings and Tasheika Morris' 3-pointer kept the Lady Vols ahead.

"I felt we were in control," said Catchings, who was 12-for-17 from the field. "They had a great run in the beginning of the second half where they cut the lead to one, but after that, we broke it open."

UCLA trailed by only four with 5:26 left, when Tennessee went on a 10-2 run for a 73-61 lead with 3:40 remaining. The Lady Vols led by at least eight the remainder of the game.

"We made some mistakes that cost us," said Olivier, who was denied her 100th victory. "There were some key defensive possessions where we didn't get the big rebound or know where the shooter was. We had some key offensive possessions where we didn't come up with the big score."

Reserve Kara Lawson scored 19 points for Tennessee (3-1). Semeka Randall added 11 and Kristen Clement 10 for the Lady Vols.

Maylana Martin led UCLA (2-1) with 24 points. Janae Hubbard added 12, while Michelle Greco and freshman Nicole Kaczmarski each had 11.

Tennessee outrebounded UCLA 45-33 and made seven 3-point shots, compared to three for the Bruins.

The Lady Vols used a 14-4 run to take a 16-7 lead. Clement scored five points, while Catchings and Michelle Snow each had four during the spurt.

The Bruins closed to 21-17 with an 8-2 spurt, but the Lady Vols responded with a 10-4 run for a 31-21 advantage.