W. hoops takes on cream of Pac-10 crop
Bruins travel north to take on Stanford at Maples Pavilion
By Hye Kwon
In a matchup of David and Goliath, the UCLA women’s basketball
team takes on No. 4 Stanford at Palo Alto this evening.
Being tied for seventh place in the conference, the Bruins (7-8
overall, 2-4 in Pac-10) assume the role of David. Despite the fact
that they have been playing relatively well, the Bruins have lost
five out of seven games in the month of January. UCLA will probably
need the finest effort of the season to have a chance to pull off
an upset against an impressive Cardinal team.
Stanford enters this evening’s game with an overall record of
14-1. The Cardinal have a current winning streak of 12 games,
including a home winning streak of 32 games. The only team that
drew blood against the Cardinal this season is Tennessee  a
team that is ranked second in the latest polls. Stanford’s
unblemished record of 5-0 in the Pac-10 has them sitting alone at
the top of the conference. In addition, the Cardinal rank first in
eight different categories in the Pac-10.
Is Stanford invincible in the Pac-10? UCLA head coach Kathy
Olivier doesn’t think so.
"I don’t think Stanford will go undefeated in the conference,"
Olivier said.
As for the chances of a repeat of the Bruins’ upset performance
last season against the Cardinal this evening, Olivier remains
optimistic.
"If we’re playing really well, I think our quickness will bother
Stanford," Olivier said. "But they are so deep."
Stanford is led by a number of key players, but no one shines
brighter than Kate Starbird. The sophomore guard is seventh in the
Pac-10 in scoring with 16.8 points per game and her field goal
percentage of 54.1 percent places her fourth in the Pac-10 in that
category. In fact, Starbird is the only player in the conference
listed in the top 10 in six different categories.
One of Starbird’s best assets is her versatility. Standing at
6-feet- 2-inches, she creates match-up problems for the opposing
guards. In tonight’s game, she will likely be matched up against
UCLA’s Tawana Grimes, who is three inches shorter than
Starbird.
One name that stands out from the Cardinal bench roster is
freshman Kristin Folkl  Stanford’s imitation of Natalie
Williams. Folkl, who successfully led the Stanford volleyball team
to the NCAA title last December, has joined the basketball team to
become a vital part of the Cardinal bench. She leads the subs with
7.1 points per game and is second in the Pac-10 in free throw
percentage (81 percent).
The Bruins will be led by Kisa Hughes, who is still first in the
conference in field goal percentage at 59.8 percent. Hughes is also
fourth in scoring with 17.9 points per game and first in rebounding
with 10.8 per game.
If UCLA is to pull off an upset against Stanford, the Bruins
will have to play a flawless game. And one thing that has been well
short of flawless for the Bruins is free throw shooting. They are
last in the conference at 57.6 percent, and against Stanford, the
Bruins can ill afford to lose chances at easy scoring
opportunities.