Thursday, March 5, 1998
UCLA unites in sophistication of Europe to lend polish to
game
PREVIEW: No. 23 UCLA to make rendezvous with Arizona State,
using skills
By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Contributor
What a difference a little vacation makes.
Last year at this time, the No. 23 UCLA women’s basketball team
was just 12-13 overall (including a 5-8 record on the road) and a
dismal 6-10 in the Pac-10. The Bruins of 1997 were plagued by
inconsistency, poor chemistry and their inability to pull out a
close game all year long.
So they took a vacation. A European vacation.
The Bruins spent the summer in France playing in the Eurostars
Tournament and came back a completely different team.
When UCLA takes on Arizona State tonight in Tempe, the Bruins
will bring an 18-7 overall record and a 13-3 record in Pac-10 play
with them into the University Activity Center.
The 13 conference victories are already the most in school
history. With a sweep of the Arizona schools – they play No. 9
Arizona on Saturday – the Bruins can become the first UCLA team to
capture 20 wins since the 1991-1992 team.
UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier attributes the experiences
garnered during the European vacation for the huge turnaround this
season.
"The Europe vacation has helped us in so many areas," Olivier
said. "It helped our team chemistry, our confidence, in virtually
every area."
One of these areas is the team’s performance in close games.
Last year, the Bruins were 0-4 in games that were decided by four
points or less. This year UCLA is 4-2 in games that have been
decided by the same margin.
The basketball vacation allowed the team to understand how to
win in high-pressure situations.
"We now know what to do in the close games," said sophomore
guard Marie Philman.
A case in point was the USC game on Jan. 23 in the Lyon Center.
After playing lackadaisically for the entire game, the Bruins
somehow found a way to win the match – which was competitive
throughout – 68-64.
"(The Europe vacation) helped us in the USC game," Olivier said.
"Even though we didn’t have the best game, we knew we were going to
win. Last year we would have lost that game, but this year, we have
been beating teams in the close games."
The two-week experience in Europe has also improved the team’s
chemistry. The vacation gave the team a reason to hang out with
each other, and in the process, they found out that they like each
other. Any coach throughout the nation will tell you when a team
gets along with each other, the team wins together.
"When you spend a lot of time with each other, you tend to play
better," Olivier said. "They have respect for each other. They all
know that they each can contribute in their own ways."
A symbol of this good chemistry on this team can be seen when
the starters are plucked by Olivier during a game in favor of bench
players. Olivier likes to go deep in her bench, going sometimes
taking five players off the pine. But instead of pouting over
minutes and points, the starters instead cheer their teammates on
from the bench.
Another area that the vacation helped improve is the team’s
performance on the road. While the Bruins of a year ago were just
5-8 on the road, the current team has improved to an 8-3 away
record this season. And two of the three road losses UCLA suffered
have been to opponents ranked in the top 10: No. 7 North Carolina
at Chapel Hill and No. 5 Stanford at Maples Pavilion.
"You usually go on the road, and it’s tough to win," Olivier
said. "The Europe road trip this summer helped us so much. Now the
four days of the road trip go by so quick. In the past, the four
days were so long."
When the Bruins travel to Tempe tonight and then to Tucson for
Saturday’s matchup against Arizona, the players will continue to
draw from their European summer vacation for inspiration and
guidance.