UCLA women’s basketball to play Arizona, Arizona State
Junior center Luiana Livulo and the Bruins could be 3-0 in Pac-12 play, but a few missed opportunities have the team off to shaky start, 1-2, in conference play.
By Derrek Li
Jan. 10, 2014 2:00 a.m.
Three games into the Pac-12 conference schedule, UCLA women’s basketball could easily have a record of 3-0 instead of the 1-2 conference record it currently holds.
The two losses to USC and Colorado were both by just two points. Against Colorado, UCLA actually held a nine-point lead with 6:20 left in the game.
Despite what could be described as a demoralizing start to Pac-12 conference play, coach Cori Close isn’t concerned with the team psyche.
“The one thing I’ve asked them to commit to is to get back up every day,” Close said. “There’s gonna be punches thrown, there’s going to be outside circumstances that we can’t control, but this group continues to be resilient.”
Close said that the records can be distracting. Instead she’s focusing on growth and getting better as a team, specifically the immense improvement in defense after starting off as one of the worst in the conference.
While the defense is now getting stops, Close said she would like to see the team finish it off by rebounding well. Allowing too many offensive rebounds was one of the main reasons that nine-point lead over Colorado disappeared.
UCLA (7-8, 1-2 Pac-12) has a chance to redeem itself against two athletic teams in Arizona (4-9, 0-2) and Arizona State (12-2, 1-1) this weekend.
“Both teams are very physical and athletic and look a little different than Colorado this past weekend,” junior guard Madeline Brooks said. “So our mindset is just to play smart, so we have to play personnel really well, take away the drive and play with purpose.”
One way the Bruins can play smart is by continuing to communicate well, an issue the team made a commitment to improving over winter break.
Close said the more the team talks, especially on defense, the faster everyone plays and the more energy the team has.
Playing at Arizona on Friday night and then No. 23 Arizona State on Sunday is a homecoming of sorts for freshman guard Dominique Williams, who lived about two hours from Arizona and just 15 minutes from Arizona State.
“I’m excited to go back home, but I think we just have to focus on the little things, really closing and finishing plays like grabbing the rebound,” Williams said. “I think this weekend we’re really going to grow and become a better team, and just make that next step in our growth.”
