UCLA has seen its fair share of great post players throughout the years. This weekend, another will cement her name in Bruin lore by playing what could be her final contests in the blue and gold uniform.
Senior forward Lindsey Pluimer will play her penultimate game at Pauley Pavilion tonight as the Bruins face Arizona State (18-9, 12-4 Pac-10). Coach Kathy Olivier looks to guide the Bruins to one final push for the postseason. In order to be placed in the NCAA Tournament field of 64, UCLA (14-13, 9-7 Pac-10) will likely have to win the Pac-10 tournament, thereby gaining the automatic bid from the conference. That push begins tonight against the Sun Devils.
“Lindsey ranks right up there with the best players I’ve coached,” Olivier said. “She’s been so consistent and fundamentally sound. It’s important for her to finish on a positive note.”
A win would keep the Bruins in the hunt for the No. 4 seed entering the conference tournament. The Bruins, who currently sit in 5th place, must win both games of this weekend’s set and hope for USC to drop their two. After losing last Saturday’s game at Oregon, coach Kathy Olivier and assistant Trisha Stafford-Odom are looking for their team to get back on its feet and fight to the finish of what has been an up-and-down season.
“They are a good team,” Stafford-Odom said of Arizona State. “We need to find some chemistry and continuity, and play two good games this weekend.”
The Sun Devils are led by reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week Lauren Lacey, a forward who averages just under 13 points per game. In the first meeting of the year between UCLA and Arizona State in Tempe, the Bruins led late on a layup by Darxia Morris, only to fall 62-59 after failing to hit some last-second shots.
“Arizona State is very tough, and we need to have a good showing,” Olivier said. “It’s big for us to finish out at home.”
The sting of that defeat does not sit well with Olivier’s squad, and the Bruins will look to get revenge on their home floor.
“We’re not necessarily looking to that game for strategy because it happened so long ago,” Stafford-Odom said. “Right now we’re trying to solidify some energy going into the Pac-10 tournament.”
For the Bruins to overcome the Sun Devils, improved offensive output will be necessary. In its last three contests, UCLA has averaged just 48.6 points, including a 36-point clunker at home against the cross-town rival Trojans. All season long the emphasis from Olivier’s coaching staff has been on solid team defense, but to make a final push, shots must start falling.
“The offense has definitely been stagnant,” Stafford-Odom said. “Teams have adjusted to our transition game. We’re trying so hard to set the perfect screen that we’re hesitant to play run and gun basketball. We’re using the scout team to play up-tempo (in practice).”
With the final two regular season games at hand, UCLA is in need of increased production from anyone besides Pluimer. In the first meeting with the Sun Devils, guard Darxia Morris pitched in 14 points in the close loss. Defense, however, is still the focus, and the Bruins believe that their defensive pressure will ignite the offense.
“At the beginning of the season, we let our defense start our offense,” Stafford-Odom said. “We need to have a couple of good games making our defense truly generate our offense. That’s what we’re all about.”