W. BASKETBALL Today, 7 p.m. v. UC Irvine
Irvine
The prevailing theme of the women’s basketball season so
far has been finding consistency, both on defense and with getting
points on the board. Tonight at UC Irvine, the Bruins (4-4) will
have a shot at putting a little consistency together by stringing
together back-to-back wins for the first time in this regular
season. The Bruins take on the Anteaters (2-4), who are also hoping
to put together their first winning streak of the year, coming off
a 79-59 blowout of Loyola Marymount University. “It would be
nice to feel good about ourselves for a couple games in a
row,” UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. Last season, UCLA blew
out Irvine at Pauley, 92-54, in their second-highest offensive
output of the season. But Olivier is not taking anything for
granted, especially on the road. “We’re on the road, so
it’s going to be different,” she said. “You
can’t underestimate anyone, because we could make their
season.” Against the Anteaters tonight, look for the Bruins
to take better care of the ball than they have been doing recently.
UCLA has averaged 22.8 turnovers per game, a number Olivier would
like to see go down below 15. Olivier partially attributed those
high numbers to the Bruins’ style of play, which includes
aggressive attacking and a half-court offense that focuses on the
inside game. The Anteaters come into tonight with senior guard
Angie Ned, who posted one of the best single-game performances of
the season against LMU on Friday, scoring 37 points in as many
minutes. “We did talk about (her performance),” Olivier
said. “She’s playing well right now. She gets to the
free throw line. You have got to be on your toes all the time. …
We need to make sure we limit her looks at the basket.”
Because the their lineup is relatively inexperienced, the Bruins
are trying not to look ahead to conference play, but rather are
just concentrating on each game as it comes.
TUTER BACK IN PAULEY: The game will also carry
a more personal meaning for Irvine coach Molly Tuter, who was an
assistant coach for Olivier and the Bruins from 1998 to 2000. This
is her first year as head coach of the Anteaters, where she has
been an assistant coach since she left UCLA in 2000. Tuter assumed
head coaching duties last season, when the previous coach resigned
after an 0-7 start. Tuter led the Anteaters to an 8-14 record the
rest of the way.