The six freshmen on the women’s basketball team (2-0) have been the focus so far this season, but tonight, one member of the 2005 freshman class will be the main attraction.
Junior center Chinyere Ibekwe will return from serving a four-game suspension for violating team rules and will see her first action against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (2-1) tonight. Last season, Ibekwe was the Bruins’ chief inside presence and started every game, contributing 6.6 rebounds per game.
“Rey-Rey has been working very hard in practice and she brings another body inside that is very aggressive,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and she’s going to get in there and take us to another level. She just has to do the things she did last year and that would be huge.”
However Olivier did acknowledge that Ibekwe’s defense, which showed a need for improvement last year, is one of the aspects of her game that she will need to step up.
“Defensively, she’s got to get in the swing with the rest of the team,” Olivier said.
Olivier said that Ibekwe will fill a role in the low post that the Bruins have mostly relied on senior Lindsey Pluimer and various freshmen to fill so far this season. It also means that tonight the Bruins will be at full strength for the first time this season and some lineup combinations will be changed up.
Pluimer will see more time at forward instead of center, a role more closely resembling that which she filled last season as a post player with a solid outside shot.
“For me, I like to go both inside and out and mix it up, not be limited to one thing,” Pluimer said.
Although the Bruins have started the season well with two wins by a combined 20 points, Olivier has no plans to settle for how they’re currently playing.
“Are we playing our best basketball? No,” she said. “There’s definitely room for improvement. But if we can maintain our focus with this young group and improve every day, that’s what you want to do.”
In addition to Ibekwe, freshman Candice Brown will also be available. She has not seen any action so far this season because of an injury and will only add to the team’s depth down low.
“We have a lot of different people that can step up at different times,” Olivier said. “It’s nice to have options.”
One of those options is freshman starting point guard Doreena Campbell, who leads the team with 33.5 minutes per game.
“This is a run-and-gun type team,” Pluimer said. “Both point guards like to push. Our whole team is really committed to being an up-tempo team.”
Tonight, one of the challenges for UCLA will be to slow down the Mustangs’ junior guard Lisa McBride. She has played an average of 31.3 minutes per game and leads the team with 16 points per contest.