Over the course of the past year, the UCLA women’s basketball team has seen a stream of victories come its way. First, the Bruins won the Women’s National Invitation Tournament title, then, over the summer, a pair of players won gold medals at the international level. Now the team must come back to focus on its opening exhibition game against the Vanguard Lions.
“It’s fun to be able to go out and get in front of your fans and have the first time to showcase what we’re growing into,” said coach Cori Close. “Players are sick of practice by this point and they’re ready to go play a game so I think it’s a great opportunity to see where we are.”
The Bruins last faced the Lions in an exhibition game in 2013, defeating them 66-57.
“Vanguard is a really good team,” Close said. “Russ (Davis), I believe, is one of the best coaches in the country so he’ll have his team ready (but) it’s not a game that I’m so worried about winning or losing though. … For me it’s about a measuring stick – where are we.”
Among the players returning to the team is senior guard Nirra Fields, one of the Bruin athletes who won a gold medal over the summer. Fields and her native country Canada won the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
Sophomore guard Jordin Canada, last year’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, will also be returning after winning a gold medal for the U.S. at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea.
“I think we’re prepared,” Canada said. “We’ve had a lot of energy for this whole month of practice and we’re just ready to get the season started.”
As a returning player, Canada will be taking on a larger leadership role for the Bruins as a way to help the new freshmen. The sophomore said she knows what to expect coming into her second year, which she believes will help her with leading the team this season.
Freshman guard Kennedy Burke has been one of the newcomers on the receiving end of Canada’s leadership skills.
“(I plan on) just getting the help from all the veterans on the team like Nirra, (senior forward) Kacy (Swain), and Jordin,” Burke said. “They know that it’s all new for me, so they help me with nerves.”
This help in transitioning to college basketball will be crucial for the team as the Bruins continue to make transitions in their gameplay – switching from a slow-paced game that mostly relied on zone defense to a quick game that will use more player-to-playerdefense.
“We will try to speed up tempo and press much more often,” Close said. “Last year we probably played 60 percent zone and 40 percent player-to-player, and this year right now I would say we’re playing 70 percent player-to-player and 30 percent zone. I think we’re going to be playing much more of that style of play.”
The exhibition game against Vanguard will tip off at Pauley Pavilion at 2 p.m. Sunday.