FanPost

Women's Basketball - UCLA vs Connecticut - Preview and Game Thread

Opponent: #2 Connecticut (7-1)

When: Sunday, December 21, 2:00 PM PST

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

Audio: Bruin Live Audio

Watch: ESPN2

Live Stats: GameTracker

Official Preview: Here

One day after our men's basketball team was blown out by #1 Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic, our women's team travels to Connecticut to face the #2 Connecticut Huskies in the Hall of Fame Women's Challenge.

This will be the third game in four days for the Bruins. UCLA is coming off back-to-back games in the Tulane DoubleTree Classic, beating Samford 71-52 on Friday after a disappointing 74-67 loss to Miami in the tournament opener on Thursday.

Although the Bruins are just 4-5 so far this season, most of their losses have come against top competition; #3 Texas, #6 North Carolina, #15 Nebraska, and James Madison (which sits just outside the top 25 in the Coaches poll) have all handed UCLA a defeat, but the Bruins were competitive in all of those losses.

The men's basketball team boasts of its challenging schedule this year, but the schedule of our women's team puts those boasts to shame. By the time Pac-12 games begin, the women's basketball team will have played 3 of the top 4 ranked teams in the nation, and 4 of the top 6. And in conference games, the Bruins have 5 more games against teams currently ranked in the top 25. This may be a down year for the Pac-12 in men's basketball, but the Pac-12 has half of its teams receiving votes in the recent Coaches poll for women's basketball.

Alford defenders are fond of using "youth" and "inexperience" as excuses for the men's team's uneven performances this season. However, our men's basketball team looks like a veteran group compared to Coach Close's squad. Coach Close's team features 8 freshman and 2 sophomores along with 5 upperclassmen.

Unlike Steve Alford, Coach Close uses a deep bench and isn't afraid to give her inexperienced players opportunities to develop. Nine Bruins average 14 minutes or more a game, and only junior guard Nirra Fields averages more than 27 minutes per game. Three further players average at least 5 minutes a game in Coach Close's rotation.

For those who haven't followed our women's basketball team to date, the leading scorer and rebounder is Nirra Fields; Fields averages 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The only other Bruin averaging more than 10 points per game is sophomore guard Kari Korver (10.7 points/game).

Unlike Steve Alford, Coach Close understands the importance of recruiting elite point guards. In fact, she brought two elite point guards into the program this year. Freshmen Jordin Canada and Recee Caldwell take turns running the offense, and although there have been some growing pains (e.g., too many turnovers), the potential of these two players is immediately evident. Canada is the more dynamic of the two, frequently blowing past defenders to attack the rim, while Caldwell seems to be the better shooter, especially from behind the arc.

The Bruins are long and lean along the front line. Seniors Luiana Livulo and Corinne Costa are the starters, but junior Kacy Swain and freshmen Lajahna Drummer and Monique Billings see a lot of playing time off the bench. Because of the athleticism of this group, Coach Close has recently been using the press more frequently, and it paid dividends against Samford. However, the problem for the Bruins all season has been turnovers, so UCLA's young players have to be careful to avoid the tendency to let an increase in defensive intensity lead to recklessness with the ball.

Despite the valuable experience Coach Close's team (starters and subs!) has gained from playing top-ranked teams this season, I don't think that the Bruins aren't quite ready to knock off the Huskies yet. But unlike our men's team yesterday, our women's basketball team won't look bewildered against an elite opponent this afternoon. I will be surprised if the Bruins don't step up to the challenge of playing the Huskies. Our women's basketball team is well-coached and packed with talent; unlike our men's basketball program, the women's basketball program is moving in the right direction.

Go BRUINS!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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