Love and basketball will be in the air this Saturday in Pauley
Pavilion.
The UCLA women’s basketball team will open its season with
an exhibition game embracing Love and Basketball, a team of former
local collegiate players.
“It’s going to be a tough battle, but it should also
be a fun game,” freshman guard Noelle Quinn said. “We
all need to step up so we can show them what the new Bruins are all
about.”
The game will also be a homecoming for many former UCLA
women’s basketball players.
Michelle Greco (1999-2003), Natalie Nakase (2000-2003), Janae
Hubbard (1997-2000), Marie Philman (1997-2000), Jalina Bradley
(2000-2003) and Sandra VanEmbricqs (1987-1990) all were former
Bruins and now are members of Love and Basketball.
“I’m excited and I feel that it’s going to be
a good game,” guard Greco said. “I know I’ll have
mixed feelings because I’m a Bruin at heart.
“There’s nothing more I would love to see than the
Bruins play well. I know half the girls on the team, so it’s
going to be hard to root against them.”
This past week, sophomore forward Julia Pitts was named to the
starting lineup. She will join forward Jamila Veasley in the front
court, while guards Nikki Blue, Lisa Willis and Quinn will round
out the backcourt.
“Julia was cleared by the doctors to play,” coach
Kathy Olivier said. “She’s been looking more confident
with her play day by day.”
Pac-10 women’s basketball coaches predicted the Bruins to
finish sixth, and the media poll placed this year’s Bruin
squad to finish seventh in the Pac-10. However, Greco predicts that
the Bruins will outshoot their ranking.
“I think they are going to do well and they will
definitely surprise some people,” Greco said. “Early on
they might struggle, but by March, they will beat some legitimate
teams.”
Love and Basketball (1-1) defeated Cal State Fullerton, 79-73,
and fell in overtime last week to Pepperdine, 93-91.
Greco, who has been a major factor in the success of Love and
Basketball, tallied 32 points, nine rebounds and four steals
against Fullerton.
“Being a part of Love and Basketball has been a really
good experience,” Greco said. “I’m an aspiring
pro athlete that is trying to get back in WNBA shape. Playing
against the likes of USC, Stanford and UCLA will help me accomplish
that.”
As for all the talk about the current Bruins squaring off
against former UCLA players, Veasley feels the competition is
nothing new.
“We’ve played most of these girls before,”
Veasley said. “We’re going to look at this game just
like a practice just to see how our offense and defense looks in a
real game.”