Women’s basketball hopes to settle differences with UC Riverside

UCLA and UC Riverside have a lot in common.

Both sit at the base of mountains in Southern California, both adhere to the University of California system and both share the UC motto “Let there be light.”

These two UCs, however, show a multitude of differences when it comes to women’s basketball. UC Riverside has won its first five games of the season and UCLA has lost its first four. UC Riverside is ranked third in the Big West and UCLA is at the bottom of the Pac-12.

The UC will watch as two of its women’s basketball programs battle each other Wednesday at 5 p.m. when the Highlanders (5-2) travel to Pauley Pavilion to face the Bruins (1-4).

UC Riverside has had a promising start to its season, climbing to the top of the Big West in points per game, field goals made per game, and free throws made per game.

The Highlanders’ only losses of the season were recently delivered by Fresno State and Cal State Bakersfield.

While UC Riverside walks onto UCLA’s campus Wednesday riding a two-game losing streak, the Bruins will aim to defend their home court and add another victory to their record.

After winning their first game of the season last Tuesday over the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, the Bruins have continued to focus on a growth mentality and improving aspects of their game. Their plagued record is slowly improving.

After the Cincinnati game, coach Cori Close emphasized how proud she was that her team was able to keep a positive perspective throughout the challenges and see the bigger picture.

“I’m really proud of this team,” Close said. “I’m proud of them for trusting the process over the product.”

Freshman guard Jordin Canada and redshirt sophomore guard Kari Korver said that the team has been concentrating on urgency in practice this week.

“Now that we’ve got a win underneath our belt, we just want to keep emphasizing how important it is to always be early and know what’s going on around us,” Canada said.

The Bruins have shown strength off the glass this season, averaging 45.6 rebounds per game. Yet, the team continues to struggle with turnovers.

UCLA has committed 96 total turnovers this year, compared to the 75 it was able to force from opponents. On the other hand, UC Riverside has a positive turnover margin, forcing 130 turnovers and only committing 88.

Korver said that the team has been concentrating on improving its turnover ratio.

“The guards have been working on creating open catches on the wings,” she said. “The forwards have been getting better at getting good seals in the post and coming to the ball.”

The Bruins will share the court with a strong defensive team on Wednesday, along with Highlander junior guard Brittany Crain, who ranks fifth in the nation in points per game.

Canada said that UCLA is capable of playing a competitive game against Riverside, but will need to slow the Highlanders down in order to take command on the court.

“We have to stick to our teream principles and pressure the ball, play great defense, get some stops and communicate with each other on the defensive and offensive end,” Canada said. “They have a lot of guards that can run, so we want to try to slow them down and make them play our game.”

UCLA junior guard Nirra Fields heads into Wednesday’s matchup with two consecutive double-doubles. Fields, one of only a few returners on the court for UCLA this season, has stepped up to lead the Bruins in rebounding and scoring.

Following the Bruins’ first win, Fields highlighted the broad talent on the team and said that despite the losses, UCLA has kept an enthusiastic outlook.

“We know that we’ve grown so much since Nebraska,” Fields said. “Keeping focus on that and what we can improve on is something we take out of every game, regardless of results.”

Winning the ‘Battle of the UCs’ will help the Bruins further boost both their confidence and their team chemistry before facing No. 3 Connecticut on Dec. 21 and No. 2 Notre Dame on Dec. 28.