UCLA women’s basketball continues to be pegged as one of
the breakthrough teams in the upcoming season, with the most recent
praise coming from its most familiar critics. The Bruins have been
selected to finish in second place of the Pac-10 conference for the
2005-2006 season, according to a poll of media members who cover
Pac-10 women’s basketball. UCLA is predicted to finish behind
only Stanford, the defending conference champion who returns
Preseason All-American forward Candice Wiggins. The Cardinal,
coming off a sparkling 32-3 season in which they advanced to the
second round of the NCAA Tournament, received 10 first-place votes.
The Bruins followed with two first-place votes and a total of 109
points. The predicted finish of the conference rounds out with USC
(with one first-place vote), Arizona State, Oregon, Washington,
Arizona, California, Washington State and Oregon State. UCLA
received more preseason accolades with senior guard Nikki Blue and
junior guard Noelle Quinn selected to the Preseason All-Pac-10
team, joined by Stanford’s Wiggins and center Brooke Smith,
and Arizona State forward Emily Westerberg. Blue is coming off a
stellar junior campaign in which she averaged 17 points and 6
assists per game. Quinn was named to the first team despite missing
the majority of last season due to a torn meniscus cartilage in her
left knee. Blue led the Bruins in scoring last season, but she
doesn’t believe she’ll need to carry the load on
offense with the return of Quinn and newly added depth on the
bench. “I don’t think my role is to be a scorer,”
Blue said. “I’d rather be a passer, but when scoring is
needed, I’ll try doing my best.” Coming off a season
filled with injuries, none more devastating than the one that ended
Quinn’s season after only 10 games, coach Kathy Olivier knows
that the success of the Bruins will rest on the health of her
players. So far, she is more than satisfied with how Quinn has
recovered from off-season surgery. The team had a 10-game
exhibition tournament in Australia in August, and Quinn has
continued to progress since UCLA got back. “(Quinn) played in
Australia and did a great job, full of energy. She loves playing
with the team,” Olivier said. “Her smile, because she
was back on the court, is probably the biggest thing she brings to
the table. She is a huge plus for us.” With the season
unofficially opening up on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion against Love
and Basketball, Olivier is eager to start the year and has been
encouraged by the bounce to her players’ step in practice.
“We’ve carried that Australia trip into practice, good
positive energy,” Olivier said. “If we continue that,
we’ll be all right.”
NAGGING INJURIES: Blue has been limited in
practice during the last week because of a mildly pulled hamstring.
However, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious, and she is
not likely to miss any time once the season begins.
PITTS STILL OUT: Redshirt junior forward Julia
Pitts has yet to start practicing due to lingering knee problems
that have plagued her since she came to Westwood. After redshirting
last season while recovering from a torn meniscus in her left knee,
Pitts was expected to begin the 2005-2006 season at full strength
after participating with team on the summer tour of Australia. It
is still unclear when Pitts will regain strength in her left knee
and be cleared to play.