After narrow losses, big wins, Bruins enjoy view from top 25

Tuesday, March 3, 1998

After narrow losses, big wins, Bruins enjoy view from top 25

No. 23 ranking brings national respect but has no bearing on
tourney seedings

By David Arnold

Daily Bruin Contributor

With only one week left in the regular season, the UCLA women’s
basketball team is finally in the rankings, at No. 23 in the AP
poll.

After weeks at second in their conference, with wins over No. 8
Duke and previously No. 23 Washington, close losses to No. 5
Stanford and No. 9 Arizona, an overtime loss to No. 7 North
Carolina, and season sweeps of six Pac-10 teams, national respect
comes at last for the Bruins (18-7, 13-3).

"I couldn’t believe it," said UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier.
"It’s just been a long time coming."

The ranking, which Olivier calls "overdue," is the Bruins’ first
since a preseason 25th ranking by both Athlon Sports and Street and
Smith’s magazines.

"It’s probably because of our start," said Olivier, referring to
the 0-3 season beginning against St. Mary’s, George Washington and
Notre Dame, none of whom are ranked.

Since that inauspicious start the team has gone 18-4, with
losses only to teams currently in the top 10 in the country.

For the women of Westwood this is great news as they make their
final push toward an NCAA tournament berth on the road against the
Arizona schools.

The ranking has no direct relation to tournament seedings –
that’s determined by the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) – but it
indicates national acknowledgement of the team.

The official RPI standings won’t be released by the NCAA until
March 8, but most independent rankings have the Bruins in the
mid-30s nationally.

The RPI statistically incorporates a team’s winning percentage,
schedule strength and opponent’s schedule strength by assigning
values to them.

"It’s great we’re in (the polls), just for the recognition for
the program," said Olivier. "Twenty-third is fine for now," she
said, though she hopes to improve upon that before the next poll
comes out.

That’s not entirely out of the question, either, because after
winning 13 of their last 15, the Bruins are simply en fuego.

Powered by center Janae Hubbard’s career highs in minutes (36),
points (26) and rebounds (18) on Friday, and point guard Erica
Gomez’ 10 assists on Sunday (as many as the whole Washington team),
the Bruins continued their scorching play of late by averaging 88
points over the weekend.

Still, Olivier claims "the rankings don’t mean anything," and
that the team only looks for wins, not respect.

But don’t let that lead you to believe that it’s insignificant
for a program that hasn’t finished the season in the top 25 since
1992.