The opening weekend for the UCLA women’s basketball team showed that the team still has a lot to work on.
UCLA fell on the road to James Madison on Friday with a score of 91-87 and suffered a 84-68 loss to the University of North Carolina on Sunday.
In the wake of the losses, the team said its emphasis is on growth and moving forward.
“I think if you’re a Bruin fan, you just want to come back and watch your team because we’re going to be dramatically different every week,” said coach Cori Close. “We are just going to grow and mature every week. That’s what I’m excited about.”
The Bruins were plagued by fouls and turnovers in both games, but more so against the unranked JMU Dukes. In the game, five UCLA players fouled out, four of which were starters. They committed 26 turnovers, twice as many as JMU.
The Bruins looked sharp early on, taking a commanding lead that peaked at 14 points early into the second half, but the Dukes responded with a 9-0 run and crept back into contention as UCLA struggled to recover.
“We didn’t take away the things that were hurting us – we weren’t getting boards, we were turning the ball over, and we didn’t change those things,” said redshirt sophomore guard Kari Korver.
The Dukes forced overtime as JMU junior guard Precious Hall converted free throws in the final moments, tying it at 75. The Dukes led the entire overtime, winning by four points.
On Sunday, the Bruins still struggled with unforced errors as they were defeated by the No. 13 UNC Tar Heels.
“We are still giving away too many possessions. The live-ball ones are the ones that killed us,” Close said on the amount of turnovers. “That’s how they scored. They didn’t score versus our defense very much, they scored when we turned it over and they were able to score in transition.”
However, Close said she was very pleased with the team’s rebounding, as the Bruins collected 10 more rebounds than the Tar Heels.
Junior guard Nirra Fields, the team’s only returning All-Pac-12 player, led the Bruins in scoring this weekend, posting 26 points on Friday and another 21 on Sunday.
With a lot of underclassman players on its roster, UCLA had to transition rookies to collegiate play. Before the first game, freshman guard Jordin Canada said she felt nervous.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but once I started playing, all the nerves got out and I just started playing my game and just let it go,” Canada said.
The rookie posted a double-double on Friday with 10 rebounds and 15 points.
Freshman forward Lajahna Drummer, however, experienced different emotions.
“I was not so much nervous but anxious,” Drummer said. “I was just ready to play and show what we’ve learned so far.”
While the Bruins fell by 16 points on Sunday, Close did not focus on the margin of defeat as a way to analyze the team.
“Coach (John) Wooden taught me that the final score does not necessarily tell you how much you grew or if you’re playing to your highest potential,” Close said.
The Bruins will need to grow quickly, especially on defense, as they face the No. 9 Texas Longhorns on Sunday at Pauley Pavillion.