When the UCLA women’s basketball team travels to play Washington and Washington State this weekend, it will have to do so without one of its key players.
The Bruins will be without the services of freshman point guard Darxia Morris. Morris injured her knee in the closing minutes of Sunday afternoon’s home loss to California, and an MRI on Monday confirmed that the knee was sprained.
“We’re going to re-evaluate her after this weekend,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “It’s tough.”
Morris was a key contributor in UCLA’s upset over then-No. 2 Stanford last week, contributing 20 points in a stellar effort.
She chipped in 14 points and an assist against the Golden Bears before going down with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
“We’ll definitely miss her (this week),” Olivier said. “She has been playing really good basketball.”
As for who will take over the point guard spot for the weekend, sophomore Erica Tukiainen and freshman Doreena Campbell have both played substantial minutes at the position this season.
Such depth, a luxury for the Bruins, will be essential with the absence of Morris, who was emerging as a go-to threat.
“We’ve done this before,” Olivier said. “We have a lot of depth and versatility. That is one of the beauties of this team.”
As far as how the injury affects the rotation of substitutes and whether other players will see more court play, Olivier expressed the importance of the other members of the squad to step up and perform well on the road.
“The rotation depends on what we’re doing and how we’re doing it,” Olivier said. “It’s all about who is doing the best that day.”
She was quick to draw some silver lining from the bad news.
“People are going to have opportunities,” Olivier said. “It will give other people a chance. Hopefully they take advantage of that.”
ON OVERTIME: Though UCLA fell to No. 9 Cal, 73-70, in an overtime game Sunday afternoon, Olivier was pleased with the effort her team showed. That’s not to say she is satisfied with moral victories, however.
“I’m still mad about that loss,” Olivier said.
There were some bright spots however, including excellent defensive pressure. The defense proved a strong match for Cal’s post players, including the reigning conference player of the year, Devanei Hampton.
“It was nice to see the defense come along and get better, but we have to maintain that,” Olivier said.
Her emphasis on team defensive play has been a point of emphasis all season.
Holding Stanford to under 60 points was a culmination of season-long efforts. With such a tough opening portion of conference play ““ UCLA played three ranked teams in their first four Pac-10 games ““ Olivier is pleased with the way her team performed.
“To open up the conference season with three of the four top teams is important,” Olivier said. “We played them all close. Every game there is a valuable experience, especially for young teams.”
ROAD WOES: With two crucial games coming this weekend against Washington and Washington State, the Bruins have a chance to improve their record in road games. Though they have played the top three ranked Pac-10 teams close at home, they have struggled to maintain such intensity away from the friendly confines of Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA is 3-5 away from home after splitting their last road trip in Arizona with a win in Tucson following a tough loss at Arizona State.