Bruin gains experience after competing abroad with Team Canada

Just like when she first began lifting and conditioning with the UCLA women’s basketball team last year, the first week of training with the Canadian team left Nirra Fields so sore, she couldn’t roll around in bed. But like last year, Fields was able to push through the pain and contribute on the basketball court.

The rising sophomore guard joined the Canadian Senior Women’s National team this July and competed in the Four Nations Women’s Basketball Tournament held in Daqing and Nanjing, China.

The Canadian team played Puerto Rico, Brazil and China two times each in the eight-day, six-game tournament, finishing with a 4-2 record.

“I’ve had quite a bit of experience playing with the national team when I was younger on the U17 and U19 teams, but coming to the senior team, it’s a whole different game,” Fields said. “I have to play against girls who are older so it’s a lot more competitive.”

The soreness from training camp and more experienced competition were not the only hurdles Fields had to overcome. The Canadian team runs a Princeton offense in which constant motion, strong cuts and quick passes are used to exploit any mismatches. It requires players to think and react quickly, without any hesitation.

Even though Fields ran a similar offense with UCLA last season, she had not fully grasped the complexity of the system and the new variations and schemes introduced by the Canadian national team were enough to throw her off.

The more experienced players on the Canadian team have run the system for years, while Fields had to learn the new version in five days.

“I need to know the offense so well where I don’t have to second guess myself,” Fields said. “I think I already have it down physically, but it’s just really the mental part that I need to focus on by watching a lot of film and asking questions.”

Even before this tournament, UCLA coach Cori Close said she had already seen vast improvements after Fields came back from 10 days of training with the Canadian team in spring.

“I think the experience she gains is mostly on the mental side,” Close said. “It’s the concentration, the importance on every possession; there’s just a heightened sense of how fine-tuned you have to be.”

Both Close and Fields agreed that after dominating high school ball with her talent and athleticism, Fields wasn’t quite prepared for the more intricate college game.

“I came in kind of big-headed, like, ‘Yeah this is not going to be hard, it’s just going to be like high school,’” Fields said. “I got a rude awakening after playing my first game.”

Now in her first year on the Canadian Seniors team and faced with more experienced competition, Fields has found herself in a similar situation. But this time she said she came in with a more humble attitude and was able to contribute right away off the bench during the tournament in China.

Close said that it is typical for talented high school players to struggle to understand that it takes asserting all of their skill set and focus to succeed. She said she thinks that for Fields, the experience from playing on the Canadian team helped turn on the light bulb.

“(Fields) has to be a major consistent scorer for us this year, she’s got to add her athleticism to the rebounding end, and she’s got to be able to play phenomenal defense,” Close said. “She has all the tools to do that and now I think she’s understanding how to do it.”

Teammate and fellow rising sophomore guard Kari Korver called Fields the best one-on-one player in practice last season because of her ability to create easy scoring opportunities anywhere on the court. After Fields began training with the Canadian team, Korver sees a more multifaceted player.

“Instead of just mainly focusing on offense, her defense has become incredible,” Korver said. “She’s capable of shutting down any perimeter player; it’s something that I’ve watched her develop this year, so I’m really proud of her for that.”

After a year of working hard on her game as a Bruin, the trip to China gave Fields an opportunity to reflect. After picking the brains of more experienced players on the Canadian team, Fields came back with a new appreciation for the support she has from UCLA’s athletic department and a drive to continue to improve.

“I know that I need to work harder, take practice more seriously and just embrace working overtime even when practice is over,” Fields said.

With the experience from playing on the Canadian team, coaches and teammates said they envision Fields taking the next step to become a better-rounded basketball player. Korver said that she thinks Fields will easily become an All-Pac-12 player and Close said she sees an Olympic future for the young guard.

“The experience has affected her on almost every level: skill, mentality, consistency and work ethic,” Close said. “It has really been a game changer; she’s gone from being a great scorer to now, she’s ready to be a great basketball player.”