Game against Oregon vital for NCAA berth

Sports often lends itself to hyperbole, but it is hard to
overstate the importance of Saturday’s game against Oregon
for the UCLA women’s basketball team.

In order to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins
(17-10, 12-6 Pac-10) probably need to beat the Ducks when the two
squads face off in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament in
San Jose.

“We feel like we have to beat Oregon,” head coach
Kathy Olivier said on Monday during the Pac-10 teleconference.
“It would be hard for the selection committee to turn us down
if we win one more game,”

No. 4-seeded UCLA has defeated No. 5 Oregon twice already this
season, and appears to have the advantage on paper going into the
matchup.

However, the Bruins, who played their last regular season game
against Oregon, will hardly have smooth sailing to advance through
this weekend’s tournament ““ starting with
tomorrow’s game.

“Oregon’s gotten better,” Olivier said.
“We didn’t play as well against them last week, and
they were in a better rhythm. We know we can play
better.”

Last weekend’s game against the Ducks was not decided
until senior guard Michelle Greco sank a 12-foot jumper with six
seconds left on the clock for a 56-54 victory.

The victory kept the Bruins’ at-large hopes alive, but two
victories in the regular season do not translate to an easy game
come tipoff tomorrow night.

The Ducks’ roster boasts six players over six feet, four
of whom averaged double digit scoring this season. Meanwhile UCLA
starts just one six-footer, and frequently plays with four guards
on the court.

However, after losing multiple players this year due to medical
and disciplinary reasons, Oregon is down yet another player after
junior guard Kayla Steen tore her ACL Saturday at Pauley Pavilion
with just over a minute remaining in the game.

With its roster already limited, Oregon fared quite well against
the Bruins and was leading by as many as 13 points during the
second half.

But a smothering UCLA full-court press forced 15 Oregon
turnovers, which, combined with a slew of free throws, kept the
Bruins in contention for their eventual victory.

“We have more depth than most teams,” Olivier said.
“We feel like we have any number of people we can turn to
score at any time.”

If the Bruins are victorious on Saturday, they will likely play
No. 1-seeded Stanford in the semifinals on Sunday.

The Cardinal has been something of an insurmountable challenge
for UCLA ““ and most teams in the nation ““ as it is the
only team to beat the Bruins twice this year.

“Hopefully we play well and don’t get killed (if we
play Stanford),” Olivier said.

If the Bruins do overcome Stanford on Sunday, they would face
the winner from the other side of the bracket, most likely either
Washington or Arizona.

At this point in the season, though, it’s no time to start
making predictions.

“Everybody’s dangerous,” Oregon head coach Bev
Smith said. “All kinds of things can happen.”

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UCLA guards Michelle Greco and Nikki Blue were named to the
All-Pac-10 First Team yesterday, conference officials
announced.

After sitting out last season due to recurring concussions,
Greco led the Pac-10 in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per
game.

She also ranked first in steals per game (2.78) and fourth in
free throw percentage (.807). She was one of the front-runners for
the Pac-10 Player of the Year Award, but lost out to
Washington’s Giuliana Mendiola.

Blue, who was also named to the Pac-10’s All Freshman
Team, was among the conference leaders in points (16.3), steals
(2.33) and assists (3.4).

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