Minutes after her team had finished making a bold statement on
the court against Oregon State, Kathy Olivier made another one in
the locker room.
The UCLA women’s basketball head coach stated that she
believes her team is worthy of an NCAA Tournament berth after the
Bruins’ 82-71 victory over the Beavers last night at Pauley
Pavilion.
“The Pac-10 deserves four teams, and I think we are one of
those four,” Olivier said. “The committee would be
doing a disservice to women’s basketball if they kept us
out.”
While Olivier’s comments might be a bit hyperbolic, the
Bruins (16-10, 11-6 Pac-10) did tip-toe closer to securing an
at-large bid with their workman-like effort against the fifth-place
Beavers (14-12, 8-9 Pac-10). UCLA could still finish in a
second-place tie in the conference by defeating Oregon on Saturday,
but No. 25 Arizona’s victory over No. 9 Stanford last night
ensured that the Bruins can do no better than a No. 4 seed in the
Pac-10 tournament.
Nonetheless, news of the Wildcats’ victory did not put a
damper on what was a very solid all-around performance against
Oregon State. Six players scored in double figures for the Bruins
including seldom-used senior Natalie Jarrett, who tallied a
career-high 11 points in just six minutes of action.
Jarrett had scored just 20 points all season prior to the game,
but provided the Bruins with a much-needed spark off the bench.
“It was definitely fun to end my career this way”
said Jarrett, who was playing in her second-to-last home game as a
Bruin. “It’s great to be winning like this.”
UCLA led by 10 points at halftime, but it could not deliver the
death blow. Oregon State closed to within five points on three
separate occasions in the second half before the Bruins finally
pulled away.
Nursing a 60-55 lead with under eight minutes to play, UCLA
reeled off a 12-4 run to take control of the game. Nikki Blue
scored six of her team-high 17 points during that stretch, and made
a number of spectacular passes to set up her teammates with easy
baskets.
“Nikki’s done a lot for us all season,”
Olivier said. “She has amazing numbers as a freshman. When
she stays out of foul trouble like she did tonight, she’s a
huge weapon for us.”
Even with last night’s victory, UCLA still has to finish
strong in order to make the NCAA Tournament selection committee
take notice. While the Bruins have won four of their last five,
they would still likely need to defeat Oregon on Saturday, and win
at least one game in the Pac-10 Tournament in order to have a
realistic chance at earning a bid.
“I don’t think we had a great non-conference season,
but we’ve been a better team later in the year,”
Olivier said. “If we beat Oregon on Saturday and win two in
the Pac-10 tournament, I think we are definitely in.”