Thursday, January 28, 1999
Women hope to add Washington to long list of wins in
conference
PREVIEW: No. 8 UCLA looks to combine strong coaching with
consistent play from guards
By A. CinQue Carter
Daily Bruin Staff
As the world turns, UCLA’s Pac-10 women’s basketball dominance
continues.
The Bruins are now 7-0 in conference and 15-4 overall.
Additionally, the squad is riding an eight game win streak, its
longest since the 1981-1982 season.
The fast start for coach Kathy Olivier’s No. 8 Bruins is a
first, as she has never started undefeated. All four of the Bruins’
losses, though, have come to teams now ranked in the top 10 (No. 1
Tennessee, No. 5 Connecticut, No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 9 Duke).
Last season, despite the Bruins achieving their best record
under Olivier (20-9 overall, 14-4 Pac-10), they still could not
defeat Stanford or Arizona.
This season, however, UCLA defeated both teams on the road. The
Bruins clearly have the most talent in the conference, but a team
cannot go undefeated in a conference riding on talent alone. UCLA
struggled against Oregon and Stanford, and Olivier simply
out-coached Jody Runge and Tara VanDerveer respectively to get the
victories.
So at this point, all cylinders are clicking for the Bruins.
They dismantled an injury-plagued USC team and are nearly halfway
to an undefeated conference season. And 18-0 seems very realistic
for the Bruins.
"We can do it," said junior forward Marie Philman of the Bruins
going 18-0 in conference. "We have the talent and determination to
do it. We are tough enough mentally, and we want it."
Having already defeated seven conference teams en route to their
goal, the Bruins will face the University of Washington (9-7, 5-2
Pac-10) tonight led by forward Amber Hall and guard Jamie Redd.
"Jamie Redd is the catalyst for them," Olivier said of
Washington. "When she’s on, they’re on."
Redd has been key for the Huskies. She averages 15.8 points, 6.4
boards and 3.69 assists. Also powering UW is Hall, the only player
in the Pac-10 averaging a double-double with 15.1 points and 10.3
boards per game.
Huskies coach June Daughtery feels her troops, coming off a
heartbreaking 70-63 loss at home to Stanford, will need to bounce
back quickly for her team to do well tonight against the
Bruins.
"I think the important thing is how quickly we can rebound from
the Stanford loss," Daughtery said. "We’re coming down there (to
Los Angeles) to win two ball games (including Saturday’s vs. USC),
and that’s our mindset. We want to know how quickly we can regroup
from a tough loss."
The Bruins know how to respond to tough losses. Twice this
season, UCLA has lost two games in a row, only to run off win
streaks of at least seven games.
Olivier feels that the team has definitely grown under her watch
and continues to grow tougher mentally. She also feels that the
disappointing second round tournament loss to Alabama strengthened
her veteran team.
"The adversity we faced in Alabama," Olivier said earlier this
season, "has brought us much closer together as a team. That’s
really important for us."
Aside from center Janae Hubbard and forwards Maylana Martin and
Marie Philman – three of the top four scorers on the team – Oliver
feels that her guard play is a key element of the Bruins’ game.
"When she steps on the floor," Olivier said of junior point
guard Erica Gomez, "everyone follows her lead."
Usually the first guard off the bench is freshman Michelle
Greco. She is tied with junior Melanie Pearson for sixth in team
scoring with 7.8 per game.
"(Greco) gives 110 percent on the floor," Olivier said. "She’s a
workhorse. And she’s on the floor at the end of games. That means
she’s doing great things for us.
Daughtery did not hesitate to add that the Bruins’ starting
shooting guard is a force to be reckoned with as well.
"Don’t forget LaCresha Flannigan," Daughtery said, "and all the
rest. That team is solid."
"LaCresha has come on great this year," added Olivier on her
sophomore shooting guard. "She has been doing a really great job.
She can take anyone to the hole. And defensively she’s doing a
great job."
The Huskies are one half game behind second place Oregon; they
can make a strong push for national recognition and tie the Ducks
with a win over the Bruins. The Bruins, on the other hand, want to
solidify their top-10 standing and continue to move up the
ladder.
This game will give both teams a good look at where they
stand.MICHAEL ROSS WACHT/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Erica Gomez looks for the open pass in a game against Duke
earlier this season.
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