NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Junior guard Natalie
Nakase pulls up for a jump shot in an exhibition game
earlier this season.
By Adam Titcher
Daily Bruin Contributor
With two exhibition wins out of their way, the UCLA
women’s basketball team opens the season in the Midwest, at
the Michigan State Tournament. If they defeat Liberty University in
the first game of the Chevrolet Classic, they will face the winner
of the Buffalo-Michigan State matchup on Saturday.
The odds appear to be in the Bruins’ favor, at least for
Friday’s game, and the opposing coach tends to agree.
“I am really scared because (UCLA head coach Kathy
Olivier) has returned a lot of people,” Liberty head coach
Carey Green said. “We are really excited, looking for
competition, but I think they’re hungry for a good start and
this may be it.”
The Bruins are playing like a new team. Their dominant victories
over Slovakia and the West Coast All-Stars foreshadow what the team
hopes will be the start of a positive season.
But the wins in this tournament will not be handed out.
“These are three very good teams, but we are going in
there thinking they all are beatable,” UCLA assistant coach
Tia Jackson said.
Liberty won the Big South conference championship last year,
losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and Buffalo tied
for second in the Mid-American Athletic Conference, posting a 19-9
record. While Michigan State was ninth in the Big 10 conference,
the Bruins are not counting them out either.
Of the four teams, UCLA’s 6-23 record last season has them
coming into the tournament with the worst 2000-01 mark. Yet, with
an overall better feel for their game, the Bruins are looking
strong.
“If we play the way we have been playing, we will win both
games,” junior guard Natalie Nakase said. “We look a
lot more confident because we know each other better.”
The key to the tournament will be fighting off a different
defensive game than the Bruins usually face on the West Coast.
While Green suggested that he would not focus on a zone defense,
the Bruins know that Midwest and East Coast basketball is slower,
and more zone oriented.
The Bruins will try to answer their opponents with their speed.
On top of that, they will look for everyone to contribute.
Olivier knows that all of her players put their full effort into
a game every time they step on the floor. So for the tournament,
she looks to get everything out of her women.
“We have shown we can have a lot of people score,”
she said. “We have a lot of weapons and we are looking for a
full team effort.”