There was a moment in Pauley Pavilion Wednesday afternoon that displayed the competitive fire inside UCLA women’s basketball coach Kathy Olivier.
After a missed defensive switch during the practice ending scrimmage, Olivier blew her whistle. She then blew off some steam, lighting into her team for a poor performance Sunday afternoon against USC, a game in which the Bruins scored a program-low 36 points.
“I think we were all embarrassed that we didn’t play (well) in front of a big crowd,” Olivier said. “In front of the 1978 championship team and against our rival, we just never got it going. We’re definitely seeing more focus from me.”
Olivier hopes her increased attention to detail will rub off on her shell-shocked squad, who look for redemption tonight against Oregon State (10-16, 3-12 Pac-10) and Saturday at Oregon (11-15, 5-10 Pac-10).
Stealing two wins on the road would be crucial for UCLA (13-12, 8-6 Pac-10), which is looking to garner some momentum after Sunday’s debacle.
“I definitely think this team can bounce back,” Olivier said. “We’re young, but we don’t use that as an excuse. We pressed a little because we wanted to do well.”
Wednesday’s practice featured a bruising scrimmage, reflecting the team’s desire to channel the frustration of the loss into their play on the court. Well-executed passes and in-your-face defense was applauded by players on the sideline, everyone appearing supportive and determined to move forward.
Olivier drew minimal silver lining from the USC game, but noted that UCLA’s defense held the Trojans to under 50 points.
“Defensively we did a great job, but we didn’t take advantage of it,” Olivier said.
That defensive tenacity, which has become a trademark of the Bruins over the course of the season, will be crucial Thursday night in stopping one of the conference’s most deadly outside threats, Oregon State freshman Talisa Rhea.
In the first meeting between the two teams, Rhea lit up the Bruins for five 3-pointers and a total of 17 points. Shutting down the Beaver’s primary threat would go a long way toward a road victory.
“We’re not going to let her get any good shots,” Olivier said of Rhea. “If she gets a split second, she’ll take advantage of that.”
This weekend’s set of games will be the final conference road trip for the Bruins, who continue their push to the postseason. Being away from home, however, provides more obstacles than the friendly confines of Pauley Pavilion.
“Both Oregon State and Oregon play well at home. They’ll give us a battle,” Olivier said. “Mac Court is loud, and they draw good crowds. It will be a tough game.”
UCLA fans know well the tough reputation Oregon’s home floor, known as “The Pit,” can be on opposing teams, with UCLA men’s basketball star Kevin Love drawing verbal abuse from a rowdy student section. Olivier expects the same tenacity for the women’s game. Their first order of business, however, is to get by a tenacious Beaver team that lost by only four points in Los Angeles.
“Oregon State is very aggressive and feisty. They’re not going to back down from anybody,” Olivier said.
It is clear from the fever pitch emotional level of Wednesday’s practice that this Bruin squad is not ready to back down either.
BATTLE IN THE BAY: This is a big weekend in the Pac-10 race because the two top teams, Stanford and Cal, meet Saturday at 1 p.m. in Berkeley.
The second-place Cardinal (24-3, 13-2 Pac-10) beat the first-place Golden Bears (23-3, 14-1 Pac-10) on Jan. 26 in Palo Alto. Stanford has won 11 straight conference games since falling to UCLA and USC in Los Angeles in the first weekend of January.