By Bruce Tran
Daily Bruin Contributor
The biggest roller coaster in Southern California may not be at Magic Mountain, but rather, the UCLA’s women’s basketball season at Pauley Pavilion.
The team has had its share of highs, starting the season 3-1, and lows like losing stars Michelle Greco and Kristee Porter.
Last week’s games against the Oregon schools were a microcosm of the roller coaster ride. The team started low, setting a record for fewest points scored in a game in losing 77-36 to Oregon State, then rose to the occasion at Oregon (for 30 minutes, anyway), behind by only a basket with 10 minutes to go and in the hunt for an upset. Then the roller coaster took the team downhill again, as Oregon closed with a 29-9 run in defeating the Bruins, 76-54.
“We’re a Jekyll and Hyde team,” Bruin head coach Kathy Olivier said. “On some nights, we can feel that we can play with anybody, and on other nights, we can’t do anything right. We want to stay focused for 40 minutes, and not just 30 or 35 minutes.”
The ride returns to Pauley this weekend for what may be UCLA’s last chance to gather some momentum entering the Pac-10 Tournament. The Bruins (5-14, 2-9 Pac-10) take on last-place Washington State tonight in what represents one of the few times that UCLA is favored to win.
The Cougars have yet to win a game in Pac-10 play this season. In UCLA’s 76-64 victory over Washington State earlier this year, forward Shalada Allen scored a career-high 16 points and guard Natalie Nakase scored a career-high 24 points. Both attributed their offensive outbursts to a lack of defensive pressure from the Cougars.
Washington State head coach Jenny Przekwas vowed things would be different this time around.
“The key is defense,” said Przekwas, whose Cougar team forced 23 turnovers before succumbing, 75-68, to second-place Washington last week. “The first time, UCLA hit 10 shots in a row early in the second half. This time, we’ll pressure the ball more and really get on it on defense.”
Sunday, the Bruins will take on Washington, a team that defeated UCLA, 86-53, in their first meeting. Things won’t come as easy against the Huskies. Washington has a balanced offensive attack and is amidst a six-team logjam for second place in the Pac-10. Additionally, the Huskies are sure to remember the 81-56 shellacking that UCLA handed Washington at Pauley last year.
Still, UCLA has high hopes for this weekend’s matchups, even if it doesn’t come in the form of victories.
“Right now, we’re just talking about getting better for the future, be it the Pac-10 Tournament or next year,” Olivier said. “We’ve got the majority of people coming back next year.”
Seven games remain on the Pac-10 schedule for UCLA, and how the team rides out the roller coaster will largely determine the team’s momentum entering the postseason.