W. basketball: Women’s team vies for tourney spot

Feelings of frustration and uncertainty hang over the UCLA
women’s basketball team as it enters the most critical
stretch of its season. With a record of 9-9 (4-5 Pac-10), the
Bruins are in grave danger of failing to qualify for the NCAA
tournament for the fourth straight year.

One of the glaring deficiencies holding this year’s squad
back is its lack of a legitimate low-post threat on offense. While
head coach Kathy Olivier likes to employ guard-oriented offenses,
the burden resting on the shoulders of sophomores Nikki Blue and
Lisa Willis and freshman Noelle Quinn may be too heavy.

And it’s no secret to opposing coaches, who are scheming
their defenses to hone in on the trio.  

“It’s tough because it just takes away a look that
almost every other team has,” Willis said. “It’s
like we’re missing something offensively.”  

If UCLA doesn’t know what it’s missing, it only
needs to refer to its recent conference games. In each of the last
five contests, the Bruins’ have yielded season highs to the
opposing team’s starting center or power forward ““ an
average of 22.8 points per game.

UCLA’s leading post scorer, Whitney Jones, averages 5.6
points per game.   

While Olivier knows a legitimate post presence would certainly
ease the congestion on the floor’s offensive side and make
her team more versatile, she’s willing to wait patiently for
someone to emerge and develop into the role.  

“We’re looking for scoring from some of our post
players, but we’re not going to force the issue and
we’ll try to get our points elsewhere right now,”
Olivier said.

While starting seniors Jamila Veasley and Jones have been
logging most of the minutes in the front court due to their
defensive prowess, it has left little time for sophomore Emma
Tautolo and freshman Amanda Livingston to develop. And when they do
step onto the floor, their leash is short.

“We have a short string,” Livingston said.
“When we’re putting guards in as post players, that
leaves us with a small string. If we mess up, there might not be
another chance until next game.”

Olivier finds herself in the tenuous position of giving her team
the best chance to win now and developing players on the bench for
the future.  

“What we’re doing is playing people who are
producing, and right now it is the starters.”

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