After suffering their first consecutive losses on the season, albeit against some of the nation’s top competition, the UCLA women’s basketball team regained their winning momentum Tuesday night with a 61-49 road victory over UC Santa Barbara.
One aspect of the Bruins’ (5-3) play that coach Nikki Caldwell has been stressing early on in the season is a more consistent rebounding effort. Caldwell certainly must have gotten through to her squad, as UCLA out-rebounded the Gauchos 46-31, but the largest discrepancy came on the offensive glass, as the Bruins grabbed a season-high 25 offensive rebounds as opposed to only six for UCSB.
Caldwell credited the Bruins success on the offensive glass to their poor shooting performance, as the Bruins shot a lackluster 33.3 percent from the field.
“Well when you’re not shooting well, you better be getting second and third opportunities,” Caldwell said. “We did that.”
But the biggest story of the night was the stellar debut of UCLA sophomore guard and California native Jasmine Dixon, who was forced to sit out the Bruins’ first seven games after transferring from Rutgers University a year ago.
In her first game as a Bruin, the highly-touted Dixon did not disappoint. She scored a game-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds, which was also tops for the game.
“I was very pleased with what she brought tonight and what she’s going to continue to bring for us,” Caldwell said after Tuesday’s game. “She brings a sense of toughness even though she’s undersized. And her versatility is a plus for us.”
Along with Dixon, junior guards Doreena Campbell and Darxia Morris, both primary scoring threats for UCLA who have struggled to put the ball in the hoop as of late, also scored in double digits for the Bruins, and Caldwell hopes that this game will serve as a breakout game for her starting backcourt.
“Obviously it takes stress off our offense when those two are scoring,” Caldwell said. “I was pleased to see them stepping up into that role because they have been struggling early on.”
Next up, the Bruins will host Texas Tech Friday in Pauley Pavilion. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.