Team to face Cal, Stanford in conference tournament
Bruins need to win three games in order to take title, get NCAA bid
By Bruce Tran
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s basketball team knows what likely faces it this weekend at the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament. They’ll receive a dose of déjà vu with a rematch of last weekend’s games against the Bay Area schools, which the Bruins split with a victory over Cal and a defeat to Stanford.
And barring a string of big upsets, the team’s roller-coaster season will likely come to an end. The team’s only means of entering the NCAA Tournament – and continuing its season – is by winning the Pac-10 Tournament to pick up the guaranteed bid. To do so, UCLA would need to win three consecutive games against teams that have swept the Bruins this season.
“The Pac-10, in a nutshell, is big-time competition,” UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. “Everyone, including Stanford and the other upper tier teams, needs to win games to get into the NCAA Tournament, so everyone will be playing all-out. It’ll be high-level competition, and we’re going to see some good games.”
The Bruins will first face Cal, who they swept this season, including a 58-48 defensive battle last Friday. While the Bruins shot only 33.8%, the Golden Bears were held to 22.6% shooting. Center Ami Forney has led Cal with 11.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.
Should the Bruins defeat Cal, they move on to a Saturday matchup with Stanford, ranked second nationally and undefeated in Pac-10 play. The Cardinal has defeated UCLA by an average of 24.5 points this year. Last Sunday, despite an inspired offensive effort by the Bruins, Stanford’s hot shooting led the Cardinal to a 98-80 victory.
“Stanford is such a disciplined team, and they have so many people to turn to for scoring,” Olivier said. “Still, we took care of rebounding and free throw shooting against Stanford, and it made for a much more entertaining game. We were never in the game against Stanford, but at least we made them work.”
The Bruins enter the tournament on a high, with Olivier pleased by her team’s showings against Cal and Stanford. Sophomore guard Gennifer Arranaga has set career-highs in points in each of the last two games, scoring 14 against Cal, then 21 against Stanford. Against the Cardinal, five Bruins made it to double figures – the first time that has happened all season. The intensity has also increased with UCLA’s defensive stand against Cal and the offensive outburst against Stanford.
“If we do the little things, then we’ll be in every game,” Olivier said. “We’re opening up against Cal on Friday, and then take it from there.”
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