W. hoops looking to avenge losses to USC
Bruins face difficult task of deterring strong Trojan
offense
By Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
The UCLA women’s basketball team journeys into the Lyon Center
Saturday afternoon looking to avenge two close losses to the
University of Southern California last season.
"We thought that we should have beaten them both times," UCLA
head coach Kathy Olivier said. "Hopefully, we’ll have a little bit
better lead to hold onto and we can stay focused for 40 minutes of
the game and not for 36 like we did last year."
Last season USC defeated the Bruins with a last-second shot,
56-55, in Pauley Pavilion and 70-65 at home. The Trojans then went
on to finish fifth in the Pacific 10 and qualify for the NCAA
tournament.
But this season has been somewhat of a disappointment for
Southern Cal. Although the Trojans (7-8 overall, 2-4 Pac-10) were
picked to finish fourth in the conference and received two
first-place votes in preseason polls, they are off to a poor start,
with losses in three of four Pac-10 home games.
"Even though their Pac-10 record is 2-4 … they are a good team
when they play together," Olivier said. "When they play as a team
they will be tough to beat. We’re going to have to play well …
and make sure that we stop their fast break and keep them off the
boards."
Keeping them off the boards may be a difficult task. USC forward
Tina Thompson averages 9.1 rebounds per game. The Naismith Player
of the Year candidate also leads the Trojans in scoring (22 points
per game) and has scored over 20 points in six consecutive
games.
"We’ll probably have Zrinka Kristich on (Thompson)," Olivier
said. "Kristich is one of our best defenders and she is going to
have a tough job for her on Saturday."
Aside from providing solid defense, Kristich has been a strong
offensive contributor for the Bruins (9-6, 4-2). Kristich, who
leads the Pac-10 in field goal percentage, has averaged 14.5 points
and eight rebounds per game in the last 11 games.
"I think that UCLA has shown a lot of improvement over the years
as far as making this a tough series for us," first-year USC head
coach Fred Williams said. "UCLA has a good cast of players … so
they can hurt from anywhere on the court."
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Zrinka Kristich leads the Pac-10 in field goal percentage.
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