Women’s basketball to be put to test on road as strength of schedule picks up
Freshman guard Charisma Osborne put up career-highs in rebounds, assists and steals in No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball’s home win against Washington on Friday night. (Joy Hong/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Dylan Dsouza
Jan. 28, 2020 12:50 a.m.
The Bruins’ mettle and viability as a legitimate contender will be tested.
No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball (18-1, 7-1 Pac-12) will start its longest road stretch of the season – four games – on Friday, facing three top-20-ranked teams in a row. For the first time in more than 20 years, the Bruins will face three ranked opponents on the road consecutively because of the increased strength in the Pac-12 conference, which boasts six teams in the top 25.
“We know it’s going to be a battle every single game,” said junior forward Michaela Onyenwere. “That’s why we came to UCLA. That’s why we came to compete in this conference.”
Coach Cori Close compared the team’s upcoming slate to the gold refining process: Just as impurities are extracted when gold is heated to its melting point, the ninth-year coach said the road trips will reveal how the Bruins can improve.
“We want to be heated up,” Close said. “We want to know exactly where our weaknesses are. You can’t run from the heat. You’ve got to relish what the heat will reveal.”
Despite their near-perfect record, the Bruins rank 22nd in the country in terms of point differential – historically a stronger predictor of future success – at 16.7 points per game.
UCLA went 0-of-15 from 3-point range against Washington State on Sunday – just the second time in the last five seasons the Bruins have failed to convert a single attempt from deep.
Apart from redshirt junior guard Natalie Chou, the Bruins are a combined 0-of-30 from 3-point range in their last two games.
“Everything in the game becomes easier when you make 3-point shots – it really spreads the floor,” Close said. “But we’re not going to be a team that lives by the 3 and dies by the 3. Our anchor is our defense, getting more possessions than the other team, getting to the free throw line.”
Close said she is more concerned with how the Bruins’ looks from deep are being generated.
“The main thing is that we really want looks that come not from swings around the perimeter as much as inside-out passes,” Close said. “Off an offensive rebound, post feed and coming out, dribble penetration and then kick out.”
UCLA is averaging a conference-leading 16.5 offensive rebounds per game. Freshman guard Charisma Osborne hauled in eight offensive rebounds Friday, tying a season-high by a UCLA player.
The 5-foot-9 guard said she will rely on her past road trip experience.
“I think we’re really excited because we have had stretches like this where we had to go play Georgia and then go play Indiana,” Osborne said.
