Coming off a heartbreaking loss to No. 3 Maryland on Sunday, the women’s basketball team hopes to rebound with a solid effort tonight at Pepperdine.
After falling by just four points to the high-powered Terps, UCLA (3-1) must regroup in order to defeat what coach Kathy Olivier considers a dangerous opponent.
“They’re a good team,” Olivier said. “We cannot overlook them for any reason.”
The Waves (2-2) are picked to finish third in the WCC and last won the conference title in 2006. After three straight games in the friendly confines of Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins will hit the road for the second time this season.
“Anytime that you play a local school on their home court, you’d better be ready to play hard,” Olivier said.
After losing in nail-biting fashion to Maryland, Olivier was pleased with the response of the team in practice. Rather than taking their usual day off on Monday, the team watched film of the Maryland game together. Several teammates pointed out areas of potential improvement, an encouraging sign for a young and maturing team.
“Players were very receptive and pointed out things that they can get better at,” Olivier said.
Senior leader Lindsey Pluimer also took heart in the close result, which provided a chance for the young players and UCLA to display its talent.
“We know that we can play with everyone in the country,” Pluimer said following Sunday’s game. “We talked as a team saying, “˜We’re fine.'”
Fine indeed, if they continue to perform at such a high level against quality competition. With a monster game against No. 1 Tennessee looming, Pluimer, like Olivier, emphasized the importance of not overlooking any opponent.
“Right now our focus is on Pepperdine,” Pluimer said. “We have stuff to work on.”
Among the points of emphasis for the Bruins is improved clock management ““ cutting down on the quick shots that doomed them late in Sunday’s contest. With that comes the need for superior communication in order to avoid turnovers.
“We’re working on communication, we’ve been practicing our clock management,” Olivier said. “That’s what hurt us down the stretch. We just didn’t finish out well.”
While hesitant to single out players with a team-first attitude, Olivier praised junior guard Tierra Henderson for the spark she provides on the floor, especially on the defensive end. Her effort Sunday helped ignite a UCLA rally by flustering Maryland’s veteran backcourt. Inspired by the defensive effort, the team started hitting its shots, tearing off several big runs to momentarily take the lead.
“Her defensive intensity is contagious,” Olivier said. “The impact that Henderson has brought has been amazing. She’s doing so many positive things right now.”
The emphasis, however, is on the team as a whole to contribute. The Bruins showed their ability to do that in the Maryland game and hope for continued improvement against the Waves. UCLA then takes to the road once again Friday for a weekend tournament in Nevada.
For now though, the focus remains on coming together as a team to rebound from their most recent setback. Olivier emphasized the importance of unanimous contribution, down to even the players at the end of the Bruin bench.
“It’s a total team effort,” Olivier said. “That’s the magic we have this year.”