W. hoops: UCLA looks to dominate Arizona schools’ post players

A pair of Mack trucks will be rumbling into Pauley Pavilion this
weekend.

No, Pauley isn’t going under reconstruction, but the UCLA
women’s basketball team does have a little demolition on its
mind.

If the No. 19 Bruins are to sweep No. 25 Arizona State on Friday
and unranked Arizona on Sunday, they’ll need to bring
reinforcements on the inside against the Sun Devils’ Kristen
Kovesdy and the Wildcats’ Shawntinice Polk.

Both post players, who stand at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5
respectively, pose a matchup problem for the Bruins (11-3, 5-0
Pac-10) who are going for their fifth straight victory and sixth
consecutive win at home this season.

“We’re going to be playing the two best post players
in the conference this weekend, all the post players better be
ready,” UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. “We’re
definitely going to be tested this weekend. But, the comfort at
playing at Pauley will hopefully help us pull out a win.”

Arizona State (11-4, 3-2) has been a relatively low-key team,
but has stirred up the rankings, defeating ranked Georgia and UConn
early this season.

Tonight, Kovesdy will be the center of attention of the
Bruins’ defense. The junior has been an efficient machine on
the offensive end, shooting a conference-high 63.6 percent from the
field and averaging 11.3 points per game.

Yet containing Kovesdy may not be the tallest task this weekend
for the Bruins.

Arizona’s one-two, inside-outside punch of Polk and
Dee-Dee Wheeler have tormented opponents for two seasons.

The formula for defending the duo remains easier said than done
““ pressure the ball, discourage the pass inside, and box out
Polk.

“We’ve got to make her life miserable because when
she gets the ball, it’s money,” junior forward Emma
Tautolo said. “That’s the facts of life. Our perimeter
has to be huge.”

“We need to pack it in,” sophomore guard Noelle
Quinn said. “It’s gonna take all of us to help against
Polkie.”

Polk has the ability to run the court well and is adept in
wedging her way into position down on the block. Along with
sophomore forward Amanda Livingston, freshman Lindsey Pluimer will
get her crack at Polk, but admitted she’s going to need to
call the calvary for backup.

“I know my teammates will help me,” she said.
“So as long as we just focus, concentrate, and we work
together, I think we’ll be fine … hopefully.”

One thing that’ll be important this weekend is for Pluimer
to stay out of foul trouble. Already dubbed the “Freshman
Hack” by her teammates after fouling out twice in one
weekend, the 6-foot-4 forward will have to stay on the floor.
Because of her silky smooth jump shot and long frame, Pluimer will
be able to deter, deflect, and disrupt Polk’s offense.

“I’ll definitely be on the outside and hopefully
that takes her away from the basket,” said Pluimer who
averages 11 ppg on 50 percent shooting from the field.

When the smoke clears from the collision down in the post, a
pair of speedsters may just steal the show on Sunday. The matchup
between UCLA’s Nikki Blue, and Wheeler, who leads the
conference in scoring at 19.4 ppg, will be an entertaining one. In
the past two seasons, Wheeler has had the better of her matchup
with Blue offensively, outscoring her 20.5 points to 15, and out
shooting her 52 percent to 31.

“It’s not often that I find a player as quick and as
athletic as me,” Blue said. “I definitely feel
she’s one of those players in the Pac-10 that is very
underrated. But you know what, it’s just another game to me,
against another great player.”

Surprised at the fact that a guard has outplayed Blue over the
past two seasons (the Bruins’ split 2-2), Olivier offered one
possible reason.

“Then I think Dee-Dee must be doing that when
Nikki’s not in,” Olivier said. “I’ll take a
Nikki Blue over a Dee-Dee Wheeler anytime.”

And she’ll take a pair of victories for a 7-0 record in
conference play, too.

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