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.