There’s no place like home.
After a three-game road stretch that saw the UCLA women’s basketball team go 2-1 with victories over the Washington schools and a close loss to USC, the Bruins are glad to be hitting the hardwood in Westwood once more.
“It’s good to come back home,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “We play very well at home. It will be nice to have everyone back.”
The Bruins (9-9, 4-3 Pac-10) will face the Oregon Ducks (10-8, 4-3) Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Oregon and UCLA are tied with USC for fourth place in the Pac-10, and the game is expected to be a hard-fought battle between two evenly matched teams. UCLA has won three of the last four against Oregon after splitting last season’s set with the Ducks.
“Oregon is a very well-coached basketball team,” Olivier said. “They are not going to make very many mistakes.”
If UCLA hopes to bounce back from the painful defeat at the hands of their cross-town rival, they must improve their ball-handling. Last Saturday, the Bruins turned the ball over 20 times in the loss at USC.
“We need to take care of the basketball better,” Olivier said.
Point guard Darxia Morris, who is listed as day-to-day for the contest, would help the Bruins in that regard if she were to play Thursday.
As of Wednesday, Olivier indicated that Morris would be ready to play, which should provide a lift for the Bruins.
“Without (Morris), we did a good job,” Olivier said. “But she brings a little more quickness to the table. She is very good for us when we need to up the tempo.”
UCLA hopes to continue its strong defensive performance against the Ducks, utilizing the pressure and tenacity that rallied them against the Trojans. UCLA has held seven of its last eight opponents to 65 points or less, and leads the Pac-10 in field goal percentage defense, allowing only 34.3 percent shooting from the field. The Bruins also lead conference in rebounding, a statistic that pleases Olivier.
“Any time you are going to be a good team, you need a defensive mindset,” she said. “The players have bought in to what I have been telling them. The staff has done a good job of implementing a defensive mind-set.”
A win against Oregon would move the Bruins up the conference standings and once again push the team two games over the .500 mark. This UCLA squad has been plagued by last-minute, close losses throughout the year.
“This group is very competitive, so it is difficult to lose the close games,” Olivier said. “I think we’re getting better every day in practice, though, which is something I maybe wouldn’t say in years past.”
UCLA needs a late season push if they are to sustain hopes for a post-season bid. For now, though, the focus is on handling their business against the Ducks, who are coming off a sweep of the Washington schools and look to be dangerous.
“Oregon can stretch you out and score down low, and they’re strong, so they will rebound,” Olivier said. “This is a big game for us, and we have to make sure we secure our home court.”
A win would set the table for a possible home sweep against Oregon State Saturday, giving the Bruins a leg up in the conference standings.
“I feel like we are very prepared for this game,” Olivier said.