As the ball tumbled across midcourt and sped toward the baseline during Friday’s game against Arizona, senior guard Mariah Williams was in hot pursuit, sprinting after the loose ball. Just before it rolled out of bounds, Williams reached the ball and flipped it behind her for an incredible no-look, behind-the-back pass to freshman guard Nirra Fields.
But the highlight play was not meant to be.
Fields missed the layup, but UCLA was able to maintain possession, which ended with redshirt junior forward Atonye Nyingifa rattling in a short jumper. The moment encapsulated the Bruins’ weekend: It wasn’t spectacular, but they got the job done.
No. 19 UCLA rebounded from a pair of losses last weekend to earn wins over Arizona and Arizona State on Friday and Sunday, respectively. While the wins didn’t show off the Bruins’ offensive strength, coach Cori Close was pleased with a different type of strength she saw.
“It wasn’t a pretty game to watch for sure, but I’m proud of the mentality,” Close said. “I was proud that we showed some strength mentally to rely on our defense and rebounding to hold us even though we were struggling on the offensive end.”
Those offensive struggles began in the first half against Arizona, as freshman guard Kari Korver’s three-point shooting was the only thing keeping the Bruins ahead. But while the offense was still missing, UCLA rediscovered something else that was missing in its losses to Cal and Stanford.
“This game was just really fun,” Korver said. “I just think we were the team we were before those games. Those games just weren’t fun because we had more potential than that.”
The weekend’s games were highlighted by glimpses of the Bruins’ potential, mainly through the stellar play of their freshman.
After Korver led UCLA to a 73-57 win over Arizona (11-8, 3-5Pac-12) on Friday, Fields took the reins on Sunday, leading the Bruins past the Arizona State Sun Devils (11-9, 3-5).
“This weekend it’s been all about the freshmen, to be honest with you. They’ve given us a huge lift,” Close said.
After being held scoreless through two games last weekend, Fields’ offensive success this weekend further points to the mental toughness Close saw.
“It felt pretty good, just getting with the flow again, not trying to be hesitant or not trying to make mistakes,” Fields said.
“I just kept going even if I missed a shot and just continued to motivate myself to keep shooting regardless of if I was missing or making my shots.”
Given how close the game was on Sunday, UCLA (15-4, 6-2) was fortunate her misses didn’t outnumber her makes. The Bruins maintained just a five-point lead for much of the second half, and ended up holding on to beat the Sun Devils, 54-50, showing their ability to perform under pressure.
“As our director of mental toughness would say, it’s polishing and cutting us through the pressure. No pressure, no diamonds,” Close said.
Email Bowman at kbowman@media.ucla.edu.