If the UCLA women’s basketball team is going to have a
successful season, it must rely on its freshmen to carry a heavy
scoring burden.
Judging by their first two exhibitions, the Bruin freshmen are
ready to answer the call.
UCLA wrapped up an undefeated preseason Monday by easily beating
the West Coast All-Stars 93-73 at Pauley Pavilion .
Primarily behind freshman Noelle Quinn’s stellar play and
the energy provided by sophomore Nikki Blue, the Bruins jumped out
to a 37-24 lead over the West Coast All-stars and never looked
back.
UCLA led by as many as 35 in the second half against an
undermanned West Coast All-Star team that only had five players
suited up at tip-off.
“I felt good today,” said Quinn, who finished with a
team-high 25 points on 11-for-15 shooting. “I took better
shots, and I got the ball in rhythm.”
While Quinn carried much of the scoring load, Blue provided
everything else, nearly finishing with a triple-double.
“Nikki was really energized,” coach Kathy Olivier
said. “Everyone followed her lead tonight.”
Blue finished the game with 11 points and a team-high eight
rebounds and eight assists.
“Nikki has been our biggest surprise, and people
won’t understand that,” Olivier said.
Another difference from last year’s team is the amount of
scoring weapons Blue has to choose from.
“(Nikki) has more weapons and realizes that,”
Olivier said. “She’s sharing the ball, but she’ll
score when she has to.”
Standout freshman Amanda Livingston was the biggest offensive
weapon off the bench for the Bruins, scoring 14 points and grabbing
five rebounds.
Livingston is quickly proving to everyone that she is one of the
premiere low-post players on this year’s squad.
“Amanda Livingston did a great job in there,”
Olivier said. “The post players are all working hard to do
the right thing. As long as we see carry over, they’ll all
get the chance to play.”
In a stark contrast to the team’s first exhibition,
UCLA’s defense Monday was suffocating their opponent,
limiting the West Coast All-Stars to shooting 36 percent from the
field by using a trapping half court defense.
Although Olivier has now tested multiple defenses in the
team’s two exhibition games, she believes the full-court
press best suits her team’s style of play.
“I think I’m going to use more full-court pressure
because this is a team that, once it gets going, we are going to be
really good,” Olivier said. “We don’t want to be
flat-footed.”
One member of the All-Stars that UCLA couldn’t contain
defensively was Natalia Isaac, who ripped off 11 three-pointers en
route to scoring a game-high 33 points.
“We are going to play teams that shoot threes,”
Olivier said. “And that’s when the perimeter players
have to get in the mix as far as rebounding goes.”