The weekend before the Pac-10 tournament is almost like the
discovery of a birthday present. Although the big day isn’t
here yet, it’s what happens now that is most crucial.
“The playoffs really start this week,” Oregon head
coach Bev Smith said.
Smith couldn’t have described the importance of
UCLA’s games against the Oregon schools this weekend more
succinctly.
For the Bruins, today’s matchup with Oregon State and
Saturday’s matchup against Oregon will determine their
seeding in next weekend’s conference tournament. UCLA (15-10,
10-6 Pac-10) likely has to win both games in order to make it to
the NCAA tournament in late March.
Although No. 9 Stanford has clinched the conference title,
second place is still up for grabs. Currently, Washington (20-6,
12-5 Pac-10), Arizona (18-7, 11-5 Pac-10) and UCLA are all in
contention to enter next weekend’s tournament as the No. 2
seed.
Since the Huskies will likely defeat Washington State (1-24,
1-16 Pac-10) on Saturday in the Huskies’ last regular season
game, it is incumbent on both Arizona and UCLA to perform well this
weekend.
“We feel like it’d be better to end the season
12-6,” UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said. “We want to
end this with a bang.”
Regardless of other conference teams’ performances, this
weekend’s games are must-wins for UCLA.
The Bruins have not played either Oregon or Oregon State since
the first weekend of conference play in late December, when UCLA
swept both teams on their home courts.
“Since we played them first in the first round,
we’re looking at this weekend as an opportunity to see how
much better we’ve gotten,” Olivier said.
Today, the Bruins will face Oregon State (14-11, 8-8 Pac-10), a
hard-nosed squad led by point guard Leilani Estevan. UCLA clearly
have the more explosive offense. The Bruins have averaged 13 more
points per game than the Beavers.
This weekend marks the last home games for five UCLA seniors,
including starters Michelle Greco and Natalie Nakase.
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Olivier has also marked Saturday’s Oregon game as the
“Coach’s Challenge.”
Tickets are half price, and if attendance exceeds 5,000 fans,
Olivier has promised to donate $1,000 to UCLA Mattel
Children’s Hospital.