UCLA women’s basketball hope to be rid of turnover woes against Loyola Marymount, Montana State this weekend
Markel Walker and UCLA will face Loyola Marymount on the road.
Women’s Basketball
Loyola Marymount
Friday, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles
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Before hosting Montana State on Sunday, No. 13 UCLA will head down the 405 Freeway to face Loyola Marymount.
By Daily Bruin Staff
Dec. 2, 2010 3:18 a.m.
Every time the UCLA women’s basketball team takes the court for practice, a rack filled with 12 basketballs is there to greet it at half court.
But it is not a friendly greeting.
Each time the Bruins turn the ball over to the defense during drills, a ball is removed from the rack. If the rack is emptied before practice is over, everyone stops what they’re doing and runs sprints.
It’s a device used by coach Nikki Caldwell and her assistants in order to help the No. 13 Bruins ““ who are averaging 19.6 turnovers per game ““ understand that they need to take better care of the ball.
“It’s interesting to see how much more focused they are on not necessarily making the pass, but the receiver is more focused on giving them a target,” Caldwell said. “If the ball is loose, they’re running it down. They’re making “˜for sure’ passes and not gambling as much.”
The turnover issue has been one of the few blemishes on an otherwise impressive start for the Bruins (5-0), who have yet to lose a game heading into Friday’s matchup against Loyola Marymount (4-3). UCLA will also host Montana State (2-5) on Sunday.
The practice drill has already paid dividends as the Bruins saw their turnover output shrink from 29 against UC Davis on Nov. 21 to 13 on Sunday against Temple.
“(The drill) definitely carried over,” Caldwell said with a smile.
On Friday, the Bruins will take a short road trip to play against the Lions and their talented rotation of guards.
Led by junior Alex Cowling, the Lions’ starting guards get a majority of the touches in their offense. Cowling is averaging 22.5 points per game and is shooting 46 percent from 3-point range.
The team as a whole is shooting 30 percent from beyond the arc, which is something that has caught the Bruins’ attention.
“All this week, we have been really trying to prepare on guarding the three ball and containment of the three ball,” Caldwell said.
“Whether they shoot it or try to drive it, and then not getting sucked in on the strong side.”
Defending against talented guards is something the Bruins have already grown accustomed to this early in the season.
Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins had a good game against the Bruins on Nov. 18, scoring 22 points, as did UC Santa Barbara’s Emilie Johnson, who scored 14 points on Nov. 14.
UCLA’s defense has shifted from zone to man throughout the season and will have to adapt to contain LMU’s guards, who spread the floor.
“As the game progresses, you just kind of pick your points during the game where you really want to get after them and dial your defense up,” Caldwell said. “And we have that capability.”
