JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff During the Bruins’
game against San Diego earlier this season, freshman guard
Gennifer Arranaga rushes past her opponent.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Sunday Pauley Pavillion
2:00 p.m. www.uclabruins.com
By Scott Schultz
Daily Bruin Contributor
Sounds of hard work reverberate throughout Pauley Pavilion
during women’s basketball practice.
The stampeding sound of running ““ lots of running ““
rises from the floors to the championship banners which surround
the arena. The sound of plays being called from the point or the
sideline is followed a beat later by the squeak of rubber-soled
feet making sharp cuts. Head coach Kathy Olivier can be heard
giving directions to the players.
You don’t hear a lot of voices, except when a play is
being called or the entire team is screaming, “Shot!”
when the ball is launched. There is no talk of losing. There are no
voices of negativity. There is no excessive chatter on the court.
Otherwise, the gym rings with the silence of concentration during
gametime.
The Bruins don’t sound like a team that is 0-6, and
that’s because they don’t carry themselves like an 0-6
team.
“As far as I’m concerned, we have to win,”
sophomore point guard Natalie Nakase said. “We’ve had a
week to work on everything. We’re not looking to lose.
We’re ready to win.”
The hoopsters will have another chance to win their first game
of the season Sunday at Pauley Pavilion, when they square off
against the Long Beach State 49ers at 2 p.m.
“What will make this game interesting is, they’re
good at our weaknesses,” Olivier said. “They have a
good inside game, and we need to get better in some areas of our
game.”
One of those areas would be rebounding, as the Bruin team has
been susceptible to giving up offensive rebounds which have led to
easy baskets for opponents all season.
“They have two post players that love to rebound, and we
have to make sure that we block them out, which we haven’t
done well this year,” Olivier said. “We’ll see if
this week’s practice paid off, cause that’s all
we’ve been working on this week.”
The 49ers (1-4) are coming off a 91-82 road loss to Ohio. They
are led by senior center Jackie Moore, who averages 17 points per
game and 8.4 rebounds. Junior forward Crystal Givens has also
averaged 8.0 rebounds per game.
For the Bruins to be effective, they will rely on the perimeter
scoring game of junior guard Michelle Greco, who averages 17.8
points per game, and increased production from frontcourt players
juniors Malika Leatham and Shalada Allen, who scored 14 points in
the Bruins’ last game, an 88-63 road defeat at Colorado.
“We’re really focusing on ourselves getting better
at some things that a UCLA team should be better at,” Olivier
said. “We want to make sure that we play to our strengths and
not theirs.”
Listening to the Bruin players speak, they sound ready to crash
the boards and put their losing streak behind them.
“Our plan right now is to rebound,” said sophomore
guard Jalina “AJ” Bradley. “We’re working
on the little things and improving our performance, especially our
rebounding.”
“If we rebound, there’s a very good chance we will
come out successful,” she added.
The game can be heard on KADC 850 AM, KAVL 610 AM, or on the
Internet at www.uclabruins.com.