No. 6 UCLA women’s basketball works on mental toughness, prepares to face Stanford
After scoring only five total points in the prior two games, redshirt senior guard Natalie Chou has averaged 21.5 points over the last two games against Utah and Washington State – both UCLA women’s basketball victories. (David Rimer/Daily Bruin staff)
By Francis Moon
Jan. 21, 2021 11:31 a.m.
For coach Cori Close and the Bruins, “perspective” has been the word of the year.
COVID-19, injuries and social justice are just part of a growing list of what UCLA women’s basketball has grappled with this season. Despite it all, the team has found ways to succeed thanks to the players’ and coaches’ abilities to adjust accordingly by maintaining a neutral mindset and perspective, according to Close.
“All of our work on mental conditioning, mental training and neutral thinking – I truly believe that’s made the difference in several of our wins,” Close said. “And I’m just really proud of the work that they’ve done. And I think they can feel that they have a skill that they have learned in their mental toughness and how to get back to the neutral.”
The Bruins are currently No. 6 on the AP Top 25, their highest ranking since November 2017. After Sunday’s overtime victory against then-No. 25 Washington State, the team will head into Friday’s rematch with No. 5 Stanford riding a three-game winning streak, with two of these games against ranked opponents.
Redshirt senior guard Natalie Chou – the team’s third-leading scorer at 11.4 points per game – has averaged 21.5 points on 70.8% from the field and 66.7% from deep on 12 shot attempts a game in the past two outings. In the two games prior, she attempted just seven total field goals.
“We’ve been really trying to get (Chou) established in practice and then in the games,” said sophomore guard Charisma Osborne. “For her to come out and be aggressive is something that we really need, and we all have so much confidence in her to make her shots and just do what she does.”
Chou, who has moved in and out of the starting lineup a couple of times this season, credited her teammates and coaches for helping her improve her confidence while reiterating the importance of the mental aspect of the game.
“My teammates and my coaches have really been encouraging me to be more aggressive and attacking,” Chou said. “And a lot of that went down to my mental training. I just didn’t want the highs to get too high and the lows to get too low.”
UCLA has also received a boost off the bench from freshmen guard Dominique Darius in her first three collegiate games. She has provided 10 points in a span of 31 minutes while being forced to step up quickly with an already shortened roster.
“I’m shocked at how great Dominique has been doing in practices, and especially the game against Oregon – it was her first time ever playing in that kind of arena and she killed it,” Chou said. “I asked her, ‘Are you nervous?’ and she’s like, ‘No, I’m just really excited to play.’ … When I was a freshman, I was all over the place but Dom comes in with such a maturity and readiness that is honestly far beyond her years.”
Despite the unique situation of enrolling early and reclassifying from the class of 2021, Darius said she has appreciated her teammates and coaches for making the transition as seamless and joyful as possible.
“It’s a much easier transition when you’re surrounded by people that love and care about you from the start, and when you get here, it doesn’t change, it almost escalates to another level,” Darius said. “I would say that has made the learning a lot easier, and I’ve been able to receive it a lot better because I know my coaches and teammates love me. … I wasn’t nervous, I wasn’t scared. I’m just so happy to be here and thankful for the opportunity to be in this situation.”
