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UCLA women’s basketball must improve mental game, break losing streak

Guard Nirra Fields led UCLA in scoring as the junior netted 19 points against No. 10 Texas on Sunday. But Fields’ 15 second-half points were not enough to lead the Bruins to a comeback victory over the Longhorns. (Owen Emerson/Daily Bruin)

By Conor Cusack

Nov. 24, 2014 2:58 a.m.

The UCLA women’s basketball team is still looking for a win, along with its identity.

The Bruins’ losing streak reached three games on Sunday as they lost their home opener against Texas. However, their biggest struggles on Sunday were different from what they were in their first two games.

Despite a strong start and late push, the Bruins (0-3) were unable to claim their first win as they fell to the No. 10 Texas Longhorns (3-0) 75-65. The biggest struggle for UCLA was not defense, as it was last week, but rather rebounding, especially getting offensive boards.

“I thought we defended pretty well, especially in the first half. It’s just the second opportunities,” said coach Cori Close. “I thought we were forcing the kind of shots we need to force and we just didn’t come up with the possession, and that has to change for us.”

Texas out-rebounded UCLA 50-34, including 20 offensive rebounds to UCLA’s six. The extra chances were a huge difference as the Longhorns scored 20 points off offensive rebounds.

“We want our identity to be defense, rebounding and take care of the ball, and I think our defense was OK, but we couldn’t get the rebound,” said redshirt sophomore guard Kari Korver.

Junior guard Nirra Fields again led the Bruins in scoring. She put up 15 points in the second half after scoring only four in the first. Fields noted that the defensive struggles were mental and that the Bruins need to strengthen their mindset and chemistry on defense to support a developing offense.

“I felt like our offense wasn’t executed as we want it to be right now, but until that happens I feel like our defense needs to be something depended upon,” Fields said.

Close said that the Longhorns “played to their identity better than we did to ours,” citing rebounds and reiterating that the difference of the game laid within the mental game, not the physical one.

“We cannot let things that aren’t under our control affect the things that are under our control and I think that’s what we saw cumulatively over the course of the game,” Close said. “Whether we were frustrated with our offensive rhythm or frustrated that we missed a play, it affected our energy and things under our control.”

Close looked at Texas’s mental toughness as a goal for her team, saying she was excited to see the team members grow into that mental maturity.

“We just need to have more heart. We have the talent but if we don’t have the heart and the passion and the want, we’re not going to win games when it comes down to the line,” Fields said.

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