Before the start of the season, UCLA women’s basketball sat down as a team and discussed the direction it wanted to take the program. The team developed two key long-term goals: becoming a top-10 program and winning a Pac-12 title.
While the final polls of the regular season saw them fall just short of their national ranking goal, finishing at No. 14, the Bruins have the opportunity to achieve their other ambition in this weekend’s Pac-12 Tournament.
The Bruins will head to Seattle this weekend, needing three wins in three days at the tournament to earn themselves their first conference title since the 2005-2006 season.
“It’s almost like it’s in reach, but we haven’t grabbed it yet,” said redshirt junior forward Atonye Nyingifa.
Having earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament, UCLA got a first-round bye and will play today against Utah, who defeated Arizona in the first round.
The Bruins are thankful their strong play during the regular season earned them that meaningful bye.
“I think it’s really important,” Nyingifa said. “I think it gives us a chance to not only rest our bodies but to mentally prepare and see the competition play beforehand.”
The extra day of rest and preparation will be key for UCLA (23-6, 14-4 Pac-12), who, despite having beaten Utah 70-42 earlier this year, expects a much larger challenge from the Utes in the postseason.
“It’s a brand-new slate. Anything can go. Records are thrown out,” said senior forward Alyssia Brewer.
“Anybody can do anything on a given day if they wanted to, so I think you just have to stay focused going into the tournament.”
But while the clean slate could cause the Bruins problems as lower-seeded teams are reinvigorated, the Bruins are embracing the opportunity to start from scratch themselves.
After two frustrating losses each to No. 5 Cal (27-2, 17-1) and No. 4 Stanford (28-2, 17-1) this season, where UCLA, against both opponents, was blown out in one game and kept the score close in the other, UCLA will likely have to face one or both of those teams in the tournament should they advance to the semifinals or beyond.
Despite their struggles against the Golden Bears and the Cardinal this season, the Bruins remain confident they can turn that around this weekend, using the memory of those tough losses as fuel.
“I think it just puts more urgency and more focus on our team to do better. We’ve watched hours of film and we’ve (put) in extra hours in the gym and we’re going to scout our opponents really well to that point that the third time is going to be the charm,” Nyingifa said.
Rather than trying to prepare for these opponents, however, the Bruins are focused on themselves and how they can improve.
“I think more than the preparation for your opponent, it’s getting your team to play to their strengths and your team to focus on what makes them good,” said coach Cori Close.
“The team that can persevere through adversity and play to their strengths is usually the one that’s going to be on top.”
While their goal is to win the title, the Bruins will treat the Pac-12 Tournament as a learning experience. Regardless of the outcome, the competition and environment will prepare them for the NCAA Tournament.
“Well I just think it’s just like the preview to the NCAA Tournament and the intensity of it and the one-and-done urgency of it – it just refines who is the great competitor,” Close said.
“It exposes the teams that want to step into that pressure and really shine.”