March has arrived, and with it comes the end of the Pac-10 road for the UCLA women’s basketball team.
The Bruins (17-10, 8-8 Pac-10) begin their last series of conference play today with a trip to Eugene, Ore., to take on the Oregon Ducks (17-10, 7-9).
After a much-needed win over California last weekend, the Bruins have turned their attention to postseason play. UCLA must its push for two wins over the Oregon schools to increase the likelihood that it will garner a bid into the NCAA Tournament during Monday’s selection.
“It’s not an option at this point that we need two wins,” sophomore forward Nina Earl said. “We are just going to go out and play hard and hopefully come out victorious.”
Oregon is one of the teams that has forced UCLA into its current position ““ squarely on the bubble. Back in the teams’ first meeting in January, Oregon toppled UCLA 73-56 at Pauley Pavilion and tagged the Bruins with an upset loss that may come back to cost them a tournament bid. According to senior center Chinyere Ibekwe, the team wants to avenge its early season loss and prove it can defeat a team like the Ducks.
“Oregon is not a good team,” Ibekwe said. “I think they are towards the bottom of the Pac-10. We have been able to beat teams like Cal, so we just have to show them that we can beat them at their house.”
Oregon currently sits in seventh place in the Pac-10, three spots behind UCLA, which is tied for fourth with USC. The Ducks have not played at home on McArthur Court since Feb. 14 and have lost their past three games.
Oregon has beaten the Bruins in the previous two matches held on McArthur Court. Known as “The Pit,” McArthur Court presents a challenge for the Bruins as the arena is compact with a vertical circulation that allows fans to sit nearly on top of the court.
“I remember last year, when the Oregon team started to come back and made a little run, it did get really loud in there, and it wasn’t even full,” Earl said.
Ibekwe, who has made the trip to Eugene three times, believes that the team will be fine as long as they go out on the court and do what is expected.
“It’s brutal, it’s really brutal,” Ibekwe said. “Their fans are so hyped, I guess because there is nothing else to do in Eugene. We as a team, when adversity hits, we just need to stay together.”
The Ducks’ offense is paced by junior guard Micaela Cocks, who is averaging 13.4 points this season. In January, Cocks hurt the Bruins by scoring above her season average with 17 points. Junior guard Taylor Lilley is another player that the Bruins will have to watch out for. She is averaging 10.3 points and torched the Bruins with 21 points in the January game.
“Those two are like attached at the hip,” Ibekwe said. “They are definitely three-point sparks for their team. We just have to keep them from scoring because Taylor Lilley really went off on us last time.”
The Bruin team knows they have business to handle on the last weekend of the regular season.
“As a senior on my last road trip, I just really want to go out with a bang,” Ibekwe said.