The women’s basketball team lost a key player over the weekend to a leg injury. Freshman guard Recee’ Caldwell landed awkwardly in practice Friday and heard three pops in her right knee. MRIs revealed torn cartilage that will require surgery to patch. Caldwell’s timetable for recovery is estimated at two months, which puts her out for the season save a run in the NCAA tournament, should the team make it.
Caldwell was a crucial part to the Bruins’ backcourt. Ranked No. 19 among recruits by ESPN, the true freshman added depth behind freshman guard Jordin Canada and junior guard Nirra Fields.
When Canada injured her back in a December game against UC Riverside, Caldwell stepped in and sparked a UCLA comeback with 10 points and nine assists. Two days later, with Canada still out, Caldwell scored 16 points against Sacramento State.
In 17 games, Caldwell shot 34 percent from the field, averaging 6.9 points in an average of 25.2 minutes per game. She scored a career high in points with 17 against USC at the Galen Center in the end of December. However, she struggled to find consistency from the 3-point arc, shooting 28 percent and twice failing to make a shot from beyond the arc in consecutive games.
In honor of her contribution this summer on the U.S. National U18 team that went undefeated in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, Caldwell was presented a plaque before the game Sunday afternoon against Cal.
To fill Caldwell’s absence, coach Cori Close said that freshman guard Kelli Hayes will be called on more often to fill in at the guard spot when the game is up tempo and the Bruins are pressing. Close said it is also a chance to take pressure off the guards and play bigger.
“We have an opportunity to play big and maybe have one of our forwards come in and play big and try to get more post ups,” Close said.
Emphasis on rebounding
When asked what the one thing her team needs to improve the most going deeper into Pac-12 play, Close promptly responded with one word: “rebounding.”
“Rebounding is the number one thing where I don’t think there’s a bigger gap to what we can become and where we’re performing right now,” Close said.
A point of emphasis all season, the Bruins have struggled in Pac-12 play to dominate on the boards. Only twice in eight games has UCLA managed to outrebound its opponent, and of those games they only managed margins of +1 and +4.
Individually, there are some bright spots. Close commended redshirt junior forward Kacy Swain’s growth on the boards after Sunday’s game against Cal. Swain pulled in a season-high 10 rebounds in only 17 minutes.
“The only thing I’m worried about is to help my teammates get more possessions,” Swain said.
Rebounding serves as a foundation for the Bruins’ identity as it affects so many different aspects of their game, offensively and defensively.
“It feeds our fast break, it obviously helps us get stops and it takes pressure off our jump shooters on the offensive end,” Close said.
Close takes the blame for UCLA’s rebounding woes. She says she hasn’t cultivated the toughness and intensity on the boards that she wants to see.
“(Rebounding) is probably the thing I am most disappointed in my coaching this year,” Close said. “I haven’t been able to get us to be a relentless rebounding team.”
With a bigger lineup at times due to Caldwell’s absence, an extra big could also help bring in more boards in addition to facilitating scoring down low.
Compiled by Conor Cusack, Bruin Sports contributor.