Kathy Olivier promised to mix things up Wednesday night, and she delivered.
Using several combinations of players, UCLA defeated Love & Basketball 84-67 at Pauley Pavilion.
“I think we can still get better,” Olivier said. “We have to maintain our focus for 40 minutes.”
Erica Tukiainen led the UCLA women’s basketball team with 17 points as the Bruins completed their exhibition season with an impressive offensive performance. The Bruins came out firing on all cylinders, racing to an 18-0 lead on three 3-point baskets by Tukiainen, who provided a spark when UCLA’s offense lagged midway through the first half.
“I worked on mentally getting ready for the game,” Tukiainen said. “I have the mentality that we’re going to go in there and attack offensively.”
On the defensive end, the Bruins struggled to shut down lanes to the basket and surrendered several layups. Transition defense also proved to be an area in which the Bruins can improve before the regular season. The Bruins were beaten on several long outlet passes throughout the game.
“Our transition defense is what we are talking about,” Olivier said. “We had five people crashing the boards, so we need someone back to protect the basket.”
Olivier also stressed the importance of cutting down turnovers that lead to easy scores on the other end.
“If we do a better job taking care of the ball, their transition baskets won’t come,” she said.
After a barrage of 3-pointers helped Love & Basketball pull within nine points with 3:15 to play, the Bruins pulled away late with the help of some timely defense and some baskets from freshman standout Nina Earl, who contributed 13 points on 5-5 shooting.
“When you don’t have the momentum on your side, you have to know how to adjust,” Tukiainen said. “I love the fact that (the freshmen) are fearless.”
Freshman Regina Rogers, who started at center and tallied nine rebounds, impressed the coach with her defensive play.
“Regina started off well,” Olivier said. “She crashed the boards a lot better.”