From an early age, both of the freshmen additions to the UCLA women’s basketball team had UCLA on their radar. As Southern California natives, Rebekah Gardner and Atonye Nyingifa knew they wanted basketball to take them on a path that would lead to Pauley Pavilion.
On Sunday, Gardner and Nyingifa will see their goals realized as they suit up for UCLA for the first time in their careers for the first game of the season against Cal State Fullerton.
Gardner comes to Westwood from Upland, Calif.
She started playing basketball simply to enjoy an active lifestyle. Her mother did not want her sitting around the house all day, and her father played the sport.
She attended Ayala High School in nearby Chino Hills, where she broke her school’s scoring record. Her accomplishments go beyond her school’s gym, as she led her team to the CIF Southern Section title in 2007 and was also named the CIF IIA Co-Player of the Year that season.
Gardner came to UCLA because in high school, she used UCLA as something to strive for. She wanted to play college basketball and she liked that it was close to home.
Nyingifa went to school 40 miles away from Gardner at Redondo Union High School where she played and started every game in her four years on the varsity basketball team.
She helped her team win two CIF Southern Section Championships in 2005 and 2008 and was twice named the CIF Co-Player of the Year.
Like Gardner, Nyingifa chose to come to UCLA because it was close to her hometown.
In addtion, Nyingifa’s mother is an UCLA alum and Nyingfa respected the coaching staff and first-year coach Nikki Caldwell. All that drove her to choose the Bruin blue.
“My mother previously came here, so it was an all-around prestigious school,” Nyingifa said. “I knew coach Nikki and her coaching staff had a good history on their belts so I was pretty sure that I was in good hands.”
For many college freshmen, adjusting to college life can be difficult. Gardner is the first one to admit that it has taken her some time to transition to the college lifestyle.
“It was so busy at first,” she said. “I was so tired, but now I am getting used to the whole thing and I like it.”
Gardner’s transition to basketball has been all about becoming a more complete player and quickening her style of play.
While Gardner was a high-scorer in high school, she has learned that her defensive skills need some improvement if she wants to be able to compete at the college level.
“The speed is definitely different,” Gardner said. “In high school I played defense but it wasn’t as hard. Here, that is the main thing that I am struggling with so I have to work on that.”
Nyingifa describes her transition as hard but credits the closeness of the women’s basketball team as her support system.
“The team is really nice and we are like a big family,” Nyingifa said. “But the transition was tough, and I am still learning and getting used to everything.”
Caldwell has watched Gardner and Nyingifa in their transformations into college players. She said that she thinks that they have done a good job transitioning to life as student-athletes at UCLA.
“A big transition is obviously time management and I think they have done a good job with practice, books, study hall, and eating,” Caldwell said. “They are very responsible ladies and they have been a great addition to our team.”
With the start of the season just around the corner, Gardner and Nyingifa are anxious for the the games to begin.
After all of the years they spent hoping to become Bruins, Gardner and Nyingifa are ready to begin their four-year journeys as Bruins.
“I am really excited,” Nyingifa said. “The two exhibitions we had were just a taste of what might be in store for us for the rest of the season and our team is going to be extra pumped and hyped.”