Hoopsters’ prospects for title look good after Oregon sweep

Monday, February 9, 1998

Hoopsters’ prospects for title look good after Oregon sweep

Successful weekend puts team in prime spot to show their
strength

By David Arnold

Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA Bruins are in contention for the Pac-10 title. They are
currently second in the conference and just finished sweeping both
Oregon schools. They are undefeated on the road, and they could
nearly guarantee themselves an NCAA tournament bid and a share of
the conference title by winning in Palo Alto next Thursday.

If none of the above was shocking to you, maybe this is: we’re
talking about the women’s basketball team here, not the men’s.

"I think we’re shocking a few people," said freshman Lacresha
Flannigan after her team pushed the Oregon Ducks out of a tie for
second place, with an 82-54 thumping at Pauley Pavilion on Friday.
The 28-point massacre, combined with Arizona’s 77-73 loss to
Washington on Thursday, left the Bruins comfortably alone in second
place.

"I think our team just played some great basketball," said UCLA
head coach Kathy Olivier, as her Bruins showed great team work on
Friday, when all but one player scored, and no one scored over 15
points.

"I think that’s what our team is all about right now. We don’t
think we lose anything by substituting," she added. Though
questions about her substitution arose when an injured Erica Gomez,
starting point guard, plays until the horn stops her.

"I don’t ask to come out of the game," claimed Gomez. "Resting
is not going to help."

"That girl, she can go forever," said Olivier in defense of her
decision, "Maybe I should’ve taken her out, but again I felt we
needed to beat this team by a lot of points to prove that we’re for
real."

And they proved they are for real again on Sunday by beating the
Oregon State Beavers 81-70. Granted, a win over the Beavers, who
rank in the basement of the conference, doesn’t prove a whole lot,
but a season sweep of the Oregon schools and keeping a team to 8 of
24 shooting in the first half says, in Olivier’s words: "a little
something."

What distinguished this game, however, was the second-half
ejection of Oregon State head coach Judy Spoelstra, for arguing
with the referees.

When approached, Spoelstra declined to comment, pretending not
to have seen the incident. Talking about herself in the third
person, Spoelstra merely defended herself by saying, "She’s
sarcastic. The referee, according to the coach, was making bad
calls."

Bruin sophomore Maylana Martin, who overheard the conversation
between the referee and the Beaver coach said, "Spoelstra argued
with the ref, got a technical, then, she said, ‘That’s the best
call you’ve made all night,’ and he gave her another."

"It just looked like she was hollering," commented Olivier. "I
mean, I holler a lot too, but I don’t understand what was going
on."

"I don’t think it was justified," said Beaver guard Liz Barrett,
"She was just arguing with the refs to get some calls our way." Her
teammate Nicole McAllister agreed speculating: "Maybe she did that
to spark our team."

Fortunately for the Bruins, no such thing occurred, and they
went on to become 8-2 in conference play heading into Thursday’s
Bay Area showdown with conference leader Stanford.

This week’s road trip offers an opportunity for the Bruins to
gain the respect they feel they deserve. Though they sit alone in
second in the Pac-10, the Bruins are not one of the conference’s
three ranked teams.

"Sure, to get the big time respect, you’ve got to beat a
Stanford or an Arizona," admitted Olivier.

Senior Tawana Grimes, however, disputes the importance of
Arizona, saying, "They have three losses in the Pac-10, two against
teams that probably shouldn’t have been in the game with them.

"We think we’ve got a good enough team, not just to get to the
tournament, but to do really well there."