Only four games into her UCLA career, freshman guard Ashlee
Trebilcock announced Wednesday that she will transfer from the
women’s basketball program at the end of the fall quarter.
Trebilcock will no longer be affiliated with UCLA, and her decision
came as shocking news to her coaches as well as her teammates.
“It was a complete surprise; I was taken back by
it,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “Nobody saw it
coming.”
Trebilcock first voiced concerns about how she was fitting in
with the team on Monday, a couple of days after the Bruins won the
LMU/Ayres Hotel Thanksgiving Classic.
Although Trebilcock met with Olivier and her teammates to
discuss why she decided to leave the program after only two weeks,
there is still some uncertainty about why Trebilcock felt it was
time to go.
Trebilcock will lose her entire first year of eligibility even
though she only played in four games, and she will start to look at
other schools once she is officially granted her release from the
university at the end of December.
The series of events unfolded so quickly, it left the team
wondering whether Trebilcock had made a wise decision.
“Ashlee had to make her own choice,” junior guard
Noelle Quinn said. “But I know that when I was a freshman, I
had an adjustment period as well. I had to get through conference
play and my first year at school before I really felt comfortable.
(Trebilcock’s decision) felt kind of rushed.”
One of UCLA’s biggest recruits in recent years, Trebilcock
figured to be a central figure on the team for the next four
years.
Her transfer seems to have greater implications down the road,
as this year’s club features all five returning starters.
But with senior guards Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis in their last
season with the program, Trebilcock was the heir apparent as the
team’s next premier scorer.
“Ashlee’s playing time was going to increase as the
season went on, and her role would have gotten bigger,”
Olivier said. “She was someone we thought would be huge for
us over the next few years.”
Trebilcock, who was a second-team Parade Magazine All-American
and was recruited out of nearby Hart High School, averaged 17.8
minutes and 3.5 points over her first and only four games at
UCLA.
Losing a player who added depth in the backcourt and offensive
firepower off the bench, the Bruins are trying not to dwell on
Trebilcock’s absence and regain focus on upcoming games at
Clemson and No. 21 Oklahoma.
Trebilcock’s former teammates are put in the precarious
position of trying to acknowledge that a member of their Bruin
family has left while not losing sight of the collective goals.
“We all felt for her, but our focus now has to be on what
we want to accomplish as a team,” sophomore forward Lindsey
Pluimer said.
“This team has bonded so much over the last year, and we
know exactly what we want to achieve,” Quinn said. “I
don’t think this will affect us too much.”
The Bruins are now left wondering why their prized freshman
didn’t feel at home in Westwood, and must find a way to fill
the void she left behind.
“She is a very talented player, she was definitely going
to be a go-to player in the future,” Olivier said.
“Other players are going to be given an opportunity now, and
they must step up.”