Something has got to give. The UCLA Women’s Basketball team has won 31 straight home games, but the Bruins have a tough task ahead of them this week. They face #3 Baylor today and #1 UConn on Tuesday.

UCLA hosted Presbyterian on Sunday and picked up another blowout win to start off the regular season with a 2-0 record. The Bruins easily dominated the Blue Hose, winning 76-40.

From the tip-off, the Bruins had control. In the first half, UCLA went on a 12-0 run, shooting 47%. While Presbyterian only made 4 of their 22 shots in the first two quarters. Their only player to reach double digits that day was Cortney Storey who recorded a game-high of 18 points for the Blue Hose. The only Bruin to come close to Storey was Monique Billings who had 12 points.

Going into the second half, Presbyterian knew they had to be more aggressive. UCLA had height on their team and used that to their advantage. The Bruins would double-team shooters and win loose balls.

The freshmen also saw valuable minutes in the quarter. At one point, coach Cori Close had four freshmen on the court at the same time. Kennedy Burke was the veteran chosen to play at the time to help guide the first years.

Facing Baylor

After two blowout victories, Baylor will be a big test for UCLA. The two teams faced each other last year with the Lady Bears edging the Bruins 84-70. This time around, UCLA looks for revenge, but, compared to Baylor, they do not look ready yet.

Even Coach Close wasn’t impressed with last week’s victory even going as far as saying she was “disappointed about [the] effort”, and they were going to have to “respond with some more consistent habits” if they wanted to defeat Baylor and later UConn.

One thing the Bruins need to work on is finding a player who can consistently shoot from the three-point line. Replacing Kari Korver is going to be tough as the Bruins went 4-13 from the three. Those three-pointers are going to come in handy for today’s game.

Last weekend, UCLA rarely saw Jordin Canada on the court, she should be back today. According to Close, Canada was dealing with some “nagging things” and as a result, she only played 13 minutes and recorded six points. While the Bruins will be fine without Canada, it’s always better to have her on the court, not off.

This is your UCLA Women’s Basketball vs Baylor open thread!

Go Bruins!