Anyone who has watched the UCLA women’s basketball team
over the past few weeks has most likely seen juniors Nikki Blue and
Lisa Willis along with freshman Lindsey Pluimer on the court at the
same time. That’s because the trio of Bruins has been logging
heavy minutes as UCLA goes through the stretch run of its Pac-10
season. With standout sophomore Noelle Quinn sidelined with a knee
injury, UCLA coach Kathy Olivier felt that for her team to stay
afloat in the conference race without its injured star, the Bruins
needed their best lineup on the floor day-in and day-out. “I
think that’s pretty key that we’re out there all the
time,” Willis said. “Coach is just going with
who’s getting it done at the time. She’s just going
with who’s hot.” The result is that UCLA currently
boasts three of the Pac-10’s top-six players in minutes
played during the conference season, with Blue (36.4 minutes)
ranked No. 1, Willis (34.5) ranked No. 3, and Pluimer (32.2) ranked
No. 6. That statistic does not include Quinn (35.6), who has not
played in enough games to qualify. “We’ve been playing
people a lot of minutes,” Olivier said. The case was no
different this past weekend as UCLA hosted the Washington schools.
Out of a possible 80 minutes played, Blue logged 79, Pluimer 77,
and Willis 74. With UCLA’s preferred run-and-gun style of
offense, which has helped the Bruins become the Pac-10’s
second most prolific scoring team (72.4 ppg), it would appear that
fatigue would eventually set in.But according to Blue and Willis,
this is exactly what they’ve trained for, not to mention
what’s best for the team. “This is why you have spring
conditioning, summer conditioning, fall conditioning,” Willis
said. “This is the reason our bodies sustain. “This is
what we’re made for,” Blue said. “If we
couldn’t do it, we shouldn’t be out there.”
SPOILED MILESTONE: Needing 21 points in Sunday’s game to
reach the 1,000-point mark in her Bruin career, Willis netted 16
points against Washington State, leaving her five points short of
the milestone. Though she was unaware she was approaching the mark,
she regrets not getting the opportunity to do it at home. “It
doesn’t really matter now,” Willis said.
“I’m going to reach 1,000 at Arizona. If I was at home
I’d do something spectacular, like go up for a dunk or throw
a lob to myself.” Willis will become the 31st Bruin to
accomplish the feat.
LONG TIME COMING: Blue was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week
for the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Blue averaged 22.5 points, 7.5
assists, 7.0 steals and 4.0 rebounds in two games as UCLA swept
Washington and Washington State. It was the first time Blue has
earned the award.
QUINN UPDATE: The sophomore is still on crutches and is several
weeks away from returning to the court. Her knee will be
re-evaluated later today.