WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. UCLA vs. Cal Today 7:30 Berkeley Internet broadcast: www.uclabruins.com

By Scott Schultz

Daily Bruin Contributor

The women’s basketball team will travel to Haas Pavilion today with plenty of incentives when they challenge Cal in their final road trip of the season.

Incentive number one is to exact a measure of revenge for a heartbreaking loss to the Golden Bears at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 4.

During that game, the Bruins eradicated a 15-point second half deficit, only to lose on an inbounds pass and layup by Cal center Ami Forney during the final seconds of the game.

“It’s definitely an extra incentive,” said UCLA point guard Natalie Nakase. “We should have won that game.”

If the Bruins (4-21, 3-11 Pac-10) can defeat the Golden Bears (11-13, 7-7) they will likely spoil any lingering hopes for a Cal postseason bid.

Another incentive is the opportunity for their first road win of the season. No Bruin team has ever gone the entire season without winning at least one away game.

“On the road, we’re not comfortable,” Head Coach Kathy Olivier said. “We tend to get in foul trouble and we don’t perform the way we do at home.”

“We’re looking forward to going on the road to see if we’ve gotten better,” she added.

However, according to Olivier and the team, their main incentive today is to maintain the team-wide improvement of recent weeks.

The Bruins had been over-reliant on junior Michelle Greco, who leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 19.9 points per game. In recent weeks, they have been receiving additional offensive punch from several players, including reserves.

The result has been a less predictable offense, as opposing defenses have been keying on Greco, who has faced double and triple teams all season.

“I think it’s definitely to our advantage that all these players are stepping up,” Greco said. “With Kristee (Porter) and Whitney (Jones) scoring, and now A.J. (Bradley) and Gen (Arranaga) off the bench, it opens things up for everyone.”

Olivier believes that the team is playing better now because the players are more sure of their roles on the team and are more comfortable running the offense.

“I think our team is more confident now doing what they do, and they’re executing better,” Olivier said. “If you execute well, you’re going to make better shots and your field goal percentage will improve.”

“You can tell now that everyone knows their job and where they need to be,” Olivier added.

The Bruins, who lead the Pac-10 in steals and turnover margin, will focus on Cal point guard Courtney Johnson. In the previous meeting, Johnson turned the ball over 11 times. Ironically, she currently leads the Pac-10 in steals.

However, if the Bruins expect to win, they will also have to pay attention to Cal’s other guard, Kenya Corley, who scored 25 points in beating the Bruins at Pauley.

One certainty about tonight’s ball game is that the Bruins, regardless of the score, can be depended on to play full-tilt for the entire 40 minutes, a trademark of this year’s team.

The game will be broadcast on the Internet at www.uclabruins.com at 7:30 p.m.