UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell emphasized rebounding as a fundamental piece of her team’s identity this season, and it looks like her players are already responding.
Senior forward Chinyere Ibekwe came up huge for the Bruins, scoring 10 of the team’s first 14 points and snatching a career-high 15 boards in the Bruins’ 66-55 win over Pepperdine on Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA (2-0) went on to outrebound the Waves (1-1) 50 to 28, and Ibekwe finished the night 7-for-8 from the field to lead all Bruins with 15 points.
“I thought this game was one of a battle of wills,” Caldwell said. “It was definitely a physical game. Defensive intensity was there on both ends. We did a very good job of limiting their scoring opportunities. We controlled the boards, which is something this team takes pride in.”
Ibekwe, who averaged 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 points per game last season, said she knows it will be her responsibly to be a force in the paint this season.
“I need to be disciplined and be the one to set the tone for our team,” Ibekwe said. “I know that I’m able to rebound, and I do hold myself accountable. … Rebounding is one of my strengths.”
It was the first half of Tuesday’s game that displayed the physicality Caldwell spoke of. Officials called five jump balls in the first eight minutes of the first half, and several more fights for loose balls were called for fouls. UCLA, again, struggled to stay out of the bonus, committing its seventh foul with more than five minutes remaining. The intensity on the defensive end combined with some sloppy ballhandling led to both teams turning the ball over 12 times in the half.
“When you generate loose balls that means you’re getting your hand on the ball and generating deflections,” Caldwell said. “We just have to do a much better job of coming up with the ball.”
The Bruins took a 30-27 lead into halftime and wouldn’t trail the rest of the game.
Early in the second half, the Bruins seized control of the contest when senior guard Tierra Henderson converted a 3-point play, and sophomore guard Nina Earl followed that up with a steal and a layup off the turnover to stretch the Bruins lead to 39-32. From that point the Bruins wouldn’t look back.
The win provided a little bit of redemption for a Bruin team that fell to Pepperdine 91-79 when the two squads met a year ago.
“We lost to Pepperdine last time, so we looked at this game as revenge, basically,” Earl said.
With two wins under their belt, the Bruins can now look ahead to their pivotal game against No. 11 Maryland, this Sunday in College Park.
“I give it to Maryland,” Ibekwe said. “They are a very talented team. They are very athletic. They run. They jump. They compete just like us. Coach was talking about being a competitor and giving it all you’ve got. I’m very excited to go out and play Maryland.”
Caldwell said that the team will take today off and begin its preparation for the Terrapins on Thursday.
“This group has been going tough for about six days, so we’re going to take a day off to rest our legs,” Caldwell said. “And then we’re going to come back together Thursday and work to make our offensive execution better and our defense down pat. … We’re going to make sure that we are rested before the Maryland game.”
Despite this being potentially the Bruins’ toughest nonconference test of the year, Caldwell is not backing down.
After the game, Caldwell was interviewed over the loud speaker by radio announcer Dave Marcus. Halfway into his question about the challenge of playing Maryland, Caldwell cut him off mid-sentence.
“We welcome it,” she said.
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