Valuable reserves
Two Bruin reserves who have been providing some valuable minutes
off the bench are sophomore guard Jalina Bradley and junior center
Shalada Allen.
Bradley, who started the first 11 games of the season, moved to
the bench after two-sport star Whitney Jones joined the team.
Although Bradley’s minutes have been cut by an average of ten
minutes per game since then, her scoring and rebounding statistics
have barely suffered.
One statistic that has shrunk, however, is the number of
turnovers she’s committed per game. In the games she started,
Bradley averaged almost one turnover per 11.3 minutes on the court.
But since she moved to the bench, she’s averaging only one
turnover per 22.2 minutes.
Her dependable play was prevalent during the Bruins’
recent defeat to the Ducks. When starting point guard Natalie
Nakase sat out for a six-minute stretch in the first half with foul
trouble and Bradley came into the game, the Bruins remained neck
and neck with the Pac-10 leading Ducks.
Allen, a juco transfer from Texas, has been averaging a rebound
for every three minutes on the floor during conference play, which
averages out to more than 13 rebounds per 40 minutes on the
floor.
Ms. Durability
Junior guard Michelle Greco, who leads the Pac-10 in scoring
with an average of 20.1 points per game, was removed from the first
half of the Oregon game after receiving a hard elbow to the
head.
Greco, who suffered a series of minor concussions last season,
sat down for a minute and returned to the play for the remainder of
the game.
“Whenever you get hit hard in the head, it takes a minute
to clear the cobwebs,”Greco said.
The durable Greco leads the Pac-10 in minutes per game at 35 and
an astonishing 38 minutes in conference play.
Notes compiled by Scott Schultz, Daily Bruin Contributor.