UCLA women’s basketball came into their exhibition match
against Love and Basketball on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion with an
applied focus on hitting the boards and getting points in the
paint.
Mission completed, even if it was not the prettiest performance
from start to finish.
The Bruins beat Love and Basketball 86-75 before a modest home
crowd in a exhibition game that was used to answer a few of the
team’s lingering questions.
UCLA, led by the sharp shooting of senior guards Nikki Blue and
Lisa Willis and junior Noelle Quinn, is expected to have a strong
perimeter game this season. However, the game was used as a
measuring stick to see how the added depth would shore up the
defense and improve the inside game of the Bruins.
“We know that we can shoot the ball and move up and down
the court well; everybody knows that’s our strength,”
UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. “But I wanted to see if we
have a deeper bench this year and some power play in the paint.
“So far so good. I think that we have better help up and
down the roster this year, and this game was
encouraging.”
UCLA’s play was not picture perfect, with the Bruins
trailing 35-34 at halftime due in part to inconsistent shooting and
turnovers, but concerns about a lack of presence under the basket
were somewhat put to rest. The emergence of junior Consuelo Lezcano
and freshman Chinyere Ibekwe combined with the efforts of stalwarts
sophomore forward Lindsey Pluimer and junior forward Amanda
Livingston to make a strong front court rotation.
The four physically dominated Love and Basketball, grabbing
offensive rebounds that gave UCLA two or three looks on many
possessions. Ibkewe ““ called “Ray Ray” by her
coaches and teammates ““ finished with nine points and seven
rebounds, while Pluimer had seven points and eight rebounds.
The strong play of the UCLA front court kept the game close
until the perimeter shooting of Quinn, Willis and Blue found a
rhythm. Once the jump shots started falling, the Bruins easily
pulled away in the second half. Willis and senior guard Shaina
Zaida each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes to put the
game out of reach for Love and Basketball.
“We are looking to get a lot more help from our post
players this year, because that’s really what will give us
balance and put us over the top,” Quinn said. “The job
doesn’t have to be done by one person; it can be a team
effort. But it still has to get done.”
Not surprisingly, Quinn led the Bruins in scoring with 13
points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Blue, in her fourth
year starting at point guard, distributed the ball to nearly every
member of the team.
Ten Bruins scored at least five points, with Blue setting an
up-tempo game that allowed for easy buckets near the basket. Blue
totaled seven points with a team-leading nine assists.
“It’s a sign that I’m doing my job when
everybody can be involved like this,” Blue said. “This
game was important to get us playing together going into the
season.”
Highlighting the arrival of freshman guards Tierra Henderson and
Ashlee Trebilcock, Olivier has a sneaking suspicion her team will
be strong up and down the bench.
“I’m excited about this kind of depth,”
Olivier said. “It was nice to see Tierra and Ashlee out there
for the first time, because they’ll be a part of this bench
that can really make my job easier.”
DRIBBLERS: Lezcano, who was limited as a role
player last year, started the game and is currently splitting equal
time with Livingston … Blue has been hampered by a slightly
pulled hamstring, but said she is getting better. Blue played 29 of
40 minutes.