During a streak of damp and gloomy days as winter rears its ugly
head, the women’s basketball team has reason to feel like the
sun is gazing down on them.
As they prepare for the start of a new season, the Bruins have
received a bevy of encouraging news ““ from the national media
as well as the training room.
The Women’s Basketball News Service has chosen UCLA as its
preseason No. 22 team, with senior guard Nikki Blue a first-team
All-American pick and junior guard Noelle Quinn a third-team
selection.
UCLA is one of only five teams to have multiple players on the
All-America teams.
Both Blue and Quinn were also selected as preseason candidates
for the Wooden Award, and Blue is a preseason candidate for the
Wade Trophy.
While the national attention seems to only confirm early
premonitions that this year’s squad has a chance to vault
into the national spotlight, coach Kathy Olivier is taking it all
in stride.
“It’s flattering, that’s for sure,”
Olivier said. “But you’ve got to remember our season
hasn’t even begun. Who votes on these polls and what does it
mean?”
Ten practices into the new season, and the regular season still
over three weeks away, the team is currently fine-tuning the
technical aspects of its game.
The first game is against last year’s national champion
Baylor at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 18.
“We’ve thrown a lot of information at the players so
far, and now we’re going to take a step back so they can
absorb,” Olivier said. “By the start of the season,
hopefully it is all second-nature.”
While Olivier downplays the preseason accolades, her team has a
sense of guarded optimism. And nothing gives Olivier or her players
more encouragement than the relative health of the team heading
into the season.
Quinn, who missed the final 12 games of last season due to torn
meniscus cartilage in her left knee, is playing at full speed. And
although Blue had a mildly pulled hamstring a week ago, Olivier
feels confident that the injury is minor and will not linger into
the beginning of the season.
“Health is the biggest issue right now, and I’m
excited that Noelle and Nikki are responding like they have,”
Olivier said.
Coaching a team that lost one of its most versatile players
right before postseason play, Olivier knows the value of a good
bench ““ something she has earmarked as a definite strength at
the infancy of the new season.
The depth of the roster has in fact created fueled competition
for playing time, as freshmen Ashlee Trebilcock, Tierra Henderson
and Chinyere Ibekwe fill out an already-crowded bench.
The battle for time on the court has made for practices filled
with more vigor and higher attention spans, with players trying to
soak in the game.
“In the past we’ve always pushed our opponents in
games,” Olivier said. “Right now we are pushing
ourselves with competitive practices.”