UCLA women’s basketball guard Kiki Rice has said more than once over the last few weeks that the Bruins are weathering a storm.
Between losses and player absences – both anticipated and unanticipated – the ninth-ranked Bruins (19-4 overall, 8-4 Pac-12) have endured a tumultuous stretch, but they are feeling optimistic ahead of a weekend road trip that will include games against No. 11 Oregon State (20-3, 9-3) on Friday night and Oregon (11-14, 2-10) on Sunday afternoon.
“We still have a little bit of work to do,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We’re having the same confidence, cohesion, habits that we want. Our trajectory is going in the right direction, and I think we’re peeking out of the storm.”
Six-foot-7 center Lauren Betts returned to the lineup for the Bruins’ victory over Arizona last Friday and their win against Arizona State on Sunday after missing four games due to an undisclosed medical reason.
Betts has contributed offensively (15 ppg) this season, but Close sees her as an even greater asset on defense. She’s pulled down 92 defensive rebounds in 19 games.
Close challenged the team to aggressively defend in Betts’ absence, and it seems as though the Bruins are keeping that mentality even with their teammate back.
“We want to do a great job on the offensive end, being very aware of where she is and great touches for her,” Close said, “but we also we can’t lose the aggressiveness from our guards. It’s just really important that they play with a hunter’s mentality.”
Angela Dugalić and Lina Sontag will be back this week after qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics with Serbia and Germany, respectively, at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. It will be Germany’s first-ever appearance in Olympic women’s basketball.
The two Bruins traveled for nearly 24 hours to get to Brazil, where the tournament was held, and they missed roughly a week of practice time for the event.
Dugalić has started in all but one…
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