The “Nikki Caldwell Era” of UCLA women’s basketball officially commences this Sunday when the Bruins take on Cal State Fullerton.
With the first game of the season, new coach Nikki Caldwell and the rest of the women’s basketball program will get a chance to see just how the team dynamics work and where it needs to go from there.
Caldwell enters the match with little knowledge about what the Titans may bring to Pauley Pavilion.
During her time as the assistant coach at Virginia and at Tennessee, she never had the opportunity to coach against Cal State Fullerton.
Caldwell and the Bruins also have no game footage of the Titans to review.
Since the season has yet to begin, teams are not distributing tapes of their previous games.
“We don’t have anything on them,” Caldwell said. “The one thing about when you start playing this early is that the tape and getting footage on teams is scarce but as the season progresses, you obviously pick up in that regard.”
The last time that the Bruins faced the Titans was in 2006. UCLA won that game 84-74 and holds the all-time advantage over Cal State Fullerton 24-10.
Last season, the Titans finished with an 11-19 record and reached the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference Tournament.
This season, Fullerton returns its top three leading scorers from last season. Senior forward Toni Thomas, sophomore guards Lauren Chow and Ashley Richie all averaged double figures in scoring a year ago.
Without much help breaking down the Titans style of play, Caldwell said that UCLA has been flexible in covering all types of offensive strategies, so that it will be ready for whatever Cal State Fullerton may bring.
“What we try to do from a defensive standpoint is try to prepare them to defend all different screening actions,” he said. “For the most part, we have done a good job covering that area.”
On offense, the Bruins have been focusing on its side of the court rather than the Titans’ defensive style because of the lack of footage to review.
“Offensively, we want to be as efficient as we can … and really take into consideration our shot selection,” Caldwell said. “We want to make sure that no matter who we play, we’re not shooting contested shots. We want to make the extra pass.”
After two victories in their exhibition games, the Bruins will see if their early successes can translate over to the preseason and follow them into conference play. According to Caldwell, the first game of the season will act as a starting point for the Bruins to see how their game strategies work against competition.
“When you are this early in the season you really try to focus in on what your system is, both offensively and defensively, and you go from there,” Caldwell said.
Pauley Pavilion promotion
Starting with Sunday’s game and going until the end of the season, Bruin fans will be able to participate in the “Shot of a Lifetime” contest at halftime of UCLA women’s basketball games.
One fan will get the opportunity to hit a series of shots on the court to win up to $100,000. All students and ticket holders are eligible to sign up.