Wiggle room is now officially a practical joke for the UCLA
women’s basketball team.
The Bruins (15-10, 10-6 Pac-10) head into tonight’s game
against the Oregon State Beavers certain that their postseason
aspirations are fading quickly.
They finish the regular season in the Pacific Northwest, against
two of the conference’s perennial bottom feeders, but who the
Bruins play is of little consequence right now. That’s
because they need to win. It really doesn’t matter who they
play, or under what circumstances.
“(We) have to win ““ not want to or like to,”
UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. “It’s not time to say
anything dramatic; we just have to take care of
business.”
The Bruins’ first road game is against Oregon State
(12-12, 6-10), after which they head to Oregon on Saturday. The
team then travels to San Jose for the Pac-10 Tournament.
Between now and then, Olivier is looking to keep her
team’s confidence on an upswing for the final stretch of the
season. All coaches of any team sport undoubtedly harp on the need
for a positive atmosphere to sweep through the locker room.
However, Olivier looks at UCLA’s roller-coaster year and
knows she is dealing with a temperamental team.
“This team has always been up and down,” Olivier
said. “I can see it in them. When we are riding high, there
is that sense that we will beat anybody. Right now I can’t
let them think that there’s something wrong with them, that
they can’t win these close games.”
After UCLA’s 77-73 loss to USC on senior day last
Saturday, a couple of things happened. The Bruins were dropped into
a fourth place tie with the Trojans in the conference standings,
but perhaps more telling was the team’s response to the loss,
which wasn’t anger or devastation.
It was just disappointment.
The Bruins immediately thought of everyone they would embarrass
if they turned out to be one of the most talented teams not to hear
its name called on Selection Sunday.
“So many people have counted on us to win,” said
senior point guard Nikki Blue, who is averaging 13.2 points and 5.6
assists per game this season. “I think we have to remember
who we are playing for to stay motivated, but at the same time not
put too much added pressure on ourselves.”
“There is a bad taste in our mouths right now,”
Olivier said. “And it’s hard not to think about a
handful of games this season that got away. But all we have right
now is the Oregon schools. That is just a reality.”
In Oregon State, UCLA faces a team that has been playing much
better lately, winning two of its last three games. Senior forward
Kim Butler is the team’s offensive catalyst, averaging 18.5
points and 5.0 rebounds per game for her final year in Corvallis.
While the Beavers have been out of the Pac-10 title race in recent
memory, they have already had an impact on the conference by
playing spoiler.
The Beavers’ 63-55 win against the Golden Bears in
Berkeley on Feb. 2 could still be a decisive loss that keeps the
Bears out of the NCAA Tournament.
A loss like that isn’t just something that the Bruins are
trying to avoid ““ they don’t even want to consider
it.
“A win for Oregon State or Oregon against us, to spoil our
season, would make those teams’ years,” Olivier said.
“But for us? A loss? No. That is not even in the
picture.”
“No disrespect to anyone, but we should win these last two
““ and need to win ““ and then we can talk.”