ONLINE EXTRA: Women’s basketball season is roller coaster of high, lows

By Bruce Tran
Daily Bruin Contributor

The biggest roller coaster in Southern California may not be at
Magic Mountain, but rather, the UCLA’s women’s
basketball season at Pauley Pavilion.

The team has had its share of highs, starting the season 3-1,
and lows like losing stars Michelle Greco and Kristee Porter.

Last week’s games against the Oregon schools were a
microcosm of the roller coaster ride. The team started low, setting
a record for fewest points scored in a game in losing 77-36 to
Oregon State, then rose to the occasion at Oregon (for 30 minutes,
anyway), behind by only a basket with 10 minutes to go and in the
hunt for an upset. Then the roller coaster took the team downhill
again, as Oregon closed with a 29-9 run in defeating the Bruins,
76-54.

“We’re a Jekyll and Hyde team,” Bruin head
coach Kathy Olivier said. “On some nights, we can feel that
we can play with anybody, and on other nights, we can’t do
anything right. We want to stay focused for 40 minutes, and not
just 30 or 35 minutes.”

The ride returns to Pauley this weekend for what may be
UCLA’s last chance to gather some momentum entering the
Pac-10 Tournament. The Bruins (5-14, 2-9 Pac-10) take on last-place
Washington State tonight in what represents one of the few times
that UCLA is favored to win.

The Cougars have yet to win a game in Pac-10 play this season.
In UCLA’s 76-64 victory over Washington State earlier this
year, forward Shalada Allen scored a career-high 16 points and
guard Natalie Nakase scored a career-high 24 points. Both
attributed their offensive outbursts to a lack of defensive
pressure from the Cougars.

Washington State head coach Jenny Przekwas vowed things would be
different this time around.

“The key is defense,” said Przekwas, whose Cougar
team forced 23 turnovers before succumbing, 75-68, to second-place
Washington last week. “The first time, UCLA hit 10 shots in a
row early in the second half. This time, we’ll pressure the
ball more and really get on it on defense.”

Sunday, the Bruins will take on Washington, a team that defeated
UCLA, 86-53, in their first meeting. Things won’t come as
easy against the Huskies. Washington has a balanced offensive
attack and is amidst a six-team logjam for second place in the
Pac-10. Additionally, the Huskies are sure to remember the 81-56
shellacking that UCLA handed Washington at Pauley last year.

Still, UCLA has high hopes for this weekend’s matchups,
even if it doesn’t come in the form of victories.

“Right now, we’re just talking about getting better
for the future, be it the Pac-10 Tournament or next year,”
Olivier said. “We’ve got the majority of people coming
back next year.”

Seven games remain on the Pac-10 schedule for UCLA, and how the
team rides out the roller coaster will largely determine the
team’s momentum entering the postseason.