Friday, November 21, 1997
Hoopsters hope to earn 20 wins en route to NCAA bid
W. BASKETBALL: Return of point guard Erica Gomez lifts hopes for
title
By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
When you talk to UCLA women’s basketball head coach Kathy
Olivier about her team’s chances in the upcoming season, her eyes
light up with anticipation and she can hardly control her
excitement.
But who’s to blame her for being so elated about this coming
season?
Her Bruins return 11 letter winners to the squad, including all
five starters, from a team that finished 13-14 a year ago. But even
more importantly, when the team lines up against St. Mary’s tonight
at 7:30 p.m. in Moraga, they will finally have 1996 Freshman of the
Year Erica Gomez back in the starting lineup after a knee injury
forced her to miss the entire season last year.
And it’s not only Olivier who’s excited, but the players on the
squad are also anticipating an excellent year.
"If we stay healthy and stay focused, it should be a very
successful season," said fifth-year coach Olivier, who hasn’t
coached a Bruin team to the tournament in her tenure.
"As a team, we are talking about our expectations. And the team,
it’s not the staff, it’s the team saying, ‘Hey we should be up for
a Pac-10 championship’ and ‘We should be up for a NCAA tournament
bid.’ It’s them talking. So that’s pretty nice."
One reason for Olivier’s optimism is the enormous amount of
talent on the squad. But she also knows that talent itself won’t
win games, but good team play will.
"It’s the most talent we’ve had since I’ve been an assistant and
head coach here," Olivier said, whose Bruin coaching career spans
12 years. "We have the most talent in years, but if you are going
to play a team sport like basketball you have to play good as a
team. You’ve got to have everyone playing at a very high level all
the time. Only time will tell if we will do it."
The return of star sophomore point guard Gomez into the lineup
also brings a great deal of optimism for the coming year. Her
return immediately makes the team a Pac-10 contender and a
challenger for a tournament bid.
Gomez brings confidence to a team that in her absence last year,
was forced to start a makeshift lineup that was sometimes
lacking.
"Having Erica back in the lineup is a huge plus," Olivier said.
"She gives us that confidence that we need as a team. When she gets
her timing back with her teammates, we will be a very good
basketball team.
"As much as everyone is working extremely hard in practice, to
have Erica back in the lineup is huge. She brings us that pizzazz
and that excitement that makes the game so much more fun to play
and that’s important because basketball is such a grueling
sport."
In her freshman campaign, Gomez sent roars up and down the
Pac-10 with her dazzling passing skills and great ball control. She
finished the year with an 11.8 point per game average and 7 assists
per game, which earned her Freshman of the Year honors.
Her sophomore year was supposed to be even better with Maylana
Martin, a 6-foot-3-inch blue chip recruit, running the court with
her. But a knee injury in a pick-up game over the summer kept Gomez
out the whole year. Meanwhile, Martin led the Bruins with 17.9 ppg
and 6.5 rebounds. She succeeded Gomez as the Pac-10’s Freshman of
the Year.
Beginning tonight, barring further injuries, the Gomez and
Martin era will finally commence.
"It’s going to be fun to watch," Olivier said. "May gets down
the floor faster than anyone I’ve ever seen, which is amazing to me
because I’ve been around basketball since 1983. I think Gomez will
get her the ball, something May hasn’t had in the past."
With Martin and Gomez, the last two Freshmen of the Year,
leading the way, the Bruins figure to not only earn a tournament
bid, but challenge perennial powerhouse Stanford for the Pac-10
title.
"We want 20 wins this year," Olivier said, who was an assistant
coach on the last Bruin team to win 20 games in 1991. "That’s
something we haven’t talked about in the past. We’ve always felt
like we can do it if things go right. This year it’s like ‘No, 20
wins is something we are going for and something that we are going
to get.’ As far as the Pac-10, we want to compete for the
championship."DERRICK KUDO
Erica Gomez returns this season, making the women’s basketball
team a contender in the Pac-10.