After two wins on the road, the UCLA women’s basketball team is happy to be back at Pauley Pavilion for Big Ten games Sunday and Wednesday against No. 12 Maryland and Purdue.
UCLA coach Cori Close put her squad through a rigorous workout Friday afternoon after not being completely satisfied with recent practices.
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“It wasn’t the games … it was that in practice we didn’t come out with the intensity that we needed to,” Close said. “There’s a standard and if you don’t meet it, practice needs to be very uncomfortable. My biggest job is to hold us to that standard day-in and day-out.”
The third-ranked Bruins (16-1, 6-0) are anxious to build on their 10-game winning streak and take on a Maryland team that has momentum on its side after their 62-55 victory at USC on Thursday.
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“Maryland plays their butts off, they rebound, they turn people over and they get to the free-throw line,” Close said of the Terrapins, who were projected to finish second to UCLA in the Big Ten. “I’ve been coaching against Brenda Frese since I was at Florida State in the ACC and she has sustained success. She’s a heck of a coach. The hardest thing to do is to get really talented players to play hard and selflessly a high percentage of the time, and she does that every year.”
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Senior guard Kiki Rice reflected on the Bruins’ last two wins.
“Each game is an opportunity to get better to learn about ourselves,” Rice said. “Nebraska is a really, really good offensive team … our defense has taken a step up. Minnesota plays really hard and is very well coached. Both games were challenges in different ways, but we learned a lot of really good lessons.”
Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez said the Bruins are not underestimating Maryland, another ranked opponent in a schedule full of them.
“They’re really aggressive, they have a lot of great players and they’re going to come out ready to play,” Jaquez said. “They had a good game against SC and we have to come out hard and take care of the ball and rebound. It’ll be a fun game and I’m glad to be back in Pauley.”
UCLA coach Cori Close instructs her players during a win over Richmond in the NCAA tournament in March. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA has as much talent as any team in the country, but Close is trying to guard against complacency.
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“Nothing good happens in our comfort zone,” Close said. “If you’re comfortable, then you’re probably losing ground. In these last two games we had some really crappy possessions, but we still scored because we had more talent. That can be a deception and my job is to expose that and get us focused on the process, chase excellence and fall in love with what it takes to become great. Outcomes, wins and losses, records and rankings are distractions. The process is where the good work happens.”
Close praised freshmen Lena Bilic and Sienna Betts for their commitment: “I’m thrilled with them. They’re learning what it takes at this level. If they stick to choosing their commitments over their feelings they’ll be rewarded and will be some of the greatest players to play here.”
Asked if playing a Big Ten schedule provides an advantage, Close said she is proud to be a member and believes it is the premier conference in the country.
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“What separates the Big Ten is our depth,” Close said. “The SEC has a lot of teams in the top 16, but top to bottom it’s hard to argue with the amount of Quad 1 wins — we have the most in the country. Thirteen schools from the Big Ten are projected to be in the NCAA tournament. This isn’t me pounding my chest for the Big Ten, but the numbers don’t lie.”
Added Jaquez: “I love playing in the Big Ten for that reason. Everyone’s very competitive and playing top 25 teams is great. It’s going to prepare you for tournament time. We accept that challenge. We know we’re going to get everyone’s best game and that’ll only help us get better and grow. We focus on the day to day. You can’t fast forward to the end, you’ve got to get through these games first, do all the little things and the championship will be a byproduct of what we do.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
