Now that the euphoria of receiving an NCAA Tournament invitation has faded, the UCLA women’s basketball team has established a new set of goals. At the top of that list is preparing to play at ear-splitting Williams Arena, site of Sunday’s first-round matchup pitting the tenth-seeded Bruins against No. 7 seed Minnesota. UCLA practiced with […]
Author Archives: Bruce Tran
W. basketball: Women’s basketball optimistic for Sunday
This is where it pays off. For months now, coach Kathy Olivier has harped on the importance of playing a tough schedule. And after facing the likes of Texas, Purdue, Michigan State and Ohio State, Olivier can only hope the NCAA committee will look favorably upon the Bruins come Selection Sunday, despite being denied last […]
Struggling Bruins owe USC for Pac-10 berth
Dear Desmon, I just wanted to send you a thank-you note for allowing UCLA to enter the Pac-10 tournament. Sometimes, with the crosstown rivalry, what’s really important gets lost ““ and that is the fact that both L.A.-area schools should be at the Pac-10 tournament in Staples Center. With your 24-point contribution in USC’s 63-60 […]
W. basketball: Bruins’ past motivates their present
It’s a scene that has replayed in Nikki Blue’s mind over and over: the anticipation of Selection Sunday ““ sitting around the television last season with her teammates, watching each team get announced and experiencing the subsequent agony of not seeing UCLA in the bracket. “That’s been our motivation all season,” Blue said. “The upperclassmen […]
W. basketball: Women’s basketball steals win over USC
Timing is everything, and like a true magician, UCLA coach Kathy Olivier always keeps something hidden up her sleeve. But with UCLA down eight with nine minutes left in Sunday’s win over USC, Olivier could no longer wait. She revealed her full-court press ““Â a staple of many of Olivier’s shows for the past several years […]
W. basketball: Teams’ NCAA bids hinge on rivalry game
At long last there will be more than bragging rights on the line when UCLA and USC renew their women’s basketball crosstown rivalry in the regular season finale for both teams Sunday. With the Pac-10 tournament just a week away, both teams have their eyes set on getting off the bubble and into the NCAA […]
W. basketball: UCLA records new highs at Cal
Freshman Noelle Quinn can add yet another item to her already growing list of impressive accomplishments: her first career triple-double. Behind her 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Lisa Willis’s career-high 31 points, UCLA took care of business at Cal, 97-69, setting up a Saturday showdown against Pac-10 leader No. 10 Stanford. The […]