There’s nothing like the comfort of returning home just in
time for the holiday season. And the UCLA women’s basketball
team, tired and tested after coming off a long road trip that wore
on everyone’s mental toughness, is happy to be back in
Westwood. The No. 22 Bruins, following an emotionally draining
83-78 loss at No. 16 Oklahoma on Monday night, will look to bounce
back against Pepperdine tonight at Pauley Pavilion. The soothing
familiarity of home has come at the perfect time for UCLA.
“We came back at the right time,” sophomore forward
Lindsey Pluimer said. “The road trip took a lot out of us,
especially coming so close against Oklahoma. With finals coming up
and everything, we are so happy to just be back at home.”
After traveling to South Carolina, where they beat Clemson 76-63,
the Bruins quickly went on their way to Norman, Okla., to play in
front of a rowdy crowd of over 5,000 Sooner fans. The dramatic
setting for the game was only magnified when the Bruins were able
to erase a 20-point deficit and pull to within a point with 1:14
remaining in the second half. But it was all for naught, as they
ultimately couldn’t contain Oklahoma forward Courtney Paris,
who scored 24 points and set a school record with 22 rebounds. UCLA
(4-3) painted the close loss as a “good loss.” There
were many positives to be drawn out of the game, as the team was
able to rally behind the strong play of senior guard Nikki Blue,
who led the team with 23 points. “We weren’t
disappointed with our play,” coach Kathy Olivier said.
“Nikki went ballistic in the second half, and we showed
heart. But we are also just a little frustrated.” The
frustration seems to make quite a bit of sense. With its loss to
Oklahoma, UCLA has now lost three games by a total of 13 points.
The dominating performances against the four other teams the Bruins
have played and the three agonizingly close calls that have gone
the other way makes the familiarity of Pauley Pavilion that much
more soothing. Happy as they are to be home after a wayward road
trip, the Bruins still have a game to play. The Waves (1-5) come
into the game as definitive underdogs. “This is a difficult
game to get up for,” Olivier said. “(Pepperdine is) a
local team who looks at us as one of their biggest rivals, so they
will come to play.” Knowing that her team could very well
have gone undefeated if a few more things had gone right for the
Bruins, Olivier is tempted to second-guess herself. But she
won’t. “That would be way too tiring,” Olivier
said.
QUINN HONORED: Junior guard Noelle Quinn was named Pac-10 player
of the week, the sixth time in her career she’s been honored
with the award. Quinn was selected following her 24-point
performance in a win against UC Irvine on Nov. 30 and a 19-point,
14-rebound effort in a victory at Clemson last Saturday. “The
accolades are great,” Quinn said. “It’s nice to
have my play recognized.”