On
a day when the head honchos of the NBA labor negotiations rebounded
from months of failed talks to successfully rescue a season, the UCLA women's
basketball team also did some bouncing back of its own, salvaging a
two-game tilt in Northridge with a 68-48 victory against Colgate.
It wasn't quite the post-Thanksgiving plans the team had in mind, given a 63-54 loss to West Virginia in Friday's opener of the Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic. But save for a slow start, the Bruins didn't suffer from a lull in tonight's second game of a back-to-back set. Some takeaways from the win:
Rebekah Gardner, the Slasher
Call it an ongoing evolution if you will, but the elder Gardner sister repeatedly attacked the basket tonight, scoring on multiple layups as well as mid-range jumpers for a game-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds. It was much of the same story for Gardner on Friday when she netted 19 points.
Last season with the likes of guards Darxia Morris, Doreena Campbell, and forward Jasmine Dixon managing the primary scoring duties, Gardner was relegated as something of a long-ball specialist coming off the bench. But this year, she has clearly earned the license to drive, and it's certainly an encouraging sign for the Bruins.
"Last year, I was more of a shooter because we had Darxia and Doreena," Gardner said. "This year, it's just what the defense is giving me. If they give me a lane to drive, I'll drive. It's just a different feel this year."
The Bench
As if the team weren't undermanned enough already, UCLA was without freshman forward Kacy Swain, who suffered a concussion in the first half on Friday. That left coach Cori Close to work with essentially a seven-player rotation, with all seven logging in 20-plus minutes on the floor.
"Fatigue was a factor, but it was all the better because it was another opportunity to learn to become tougher," Close said. "We got beat by West Virginia because we weren't tough enough, so what better way than to be down to seven players and have to play the next day and figure out, 'How do I dig in when I'm really tired?'"
Consequently, the bench generated just 11 and 7 points, respectively, in the past two games. The imminent return of junior Markel Walker from injury, however, should add that much more depth in the scoring department.
News & Notes
On the subject of injuries and bench production, Swain is currently day-to-day and questionable for Wednesday's contest against San Diego State.
Newcomer Madeline Brooks made her collegiate debut at the 3:30 mark of the second half in tonight's game. But to the light-hearted disappointment of radio color analyst Tracy Murray (himself known as a shooter during his playing days at UCLA and in the NBA) and Bruin fans, the freshman walk-on didn't have a chance to hoist up a jumper. The blue and gold tea leaves, though, indicate she'll have a trey notched to her name by the time conference play begins.
It wasn't quite the post-Thanksgiving plans the team had in mind, given a 63-54 loss to West Virginia in Friday's opener of the Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Basketball Classic. But save for a slow start, the Bruins didn't suffer from a lull in tonight's second game of a back-to-back set. Some takeaways from the win:
Rebekah Gardner, the Slasher
Call it an ongoing evolution if you will, but the elder Gardner sister repeatedly attacked the basket tonight, scoring on multiple layups as well as mid-range jumpers for a game-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds. It was much of the same story for Gardner on Friday when she netted 19 points.
Last season with the likes of guards Darxia Morris, Doreena Campbell, and forward Jasmine Dixon managing the primary scoring duties, Gardner was relegated as something of a long-ball specialist coming off the bench. But this year, she has clearly earned the license to drive, and it's certainly an encouraging sign for the Bruins.
"Last year, I was more of a shooter because we had Darxia and Doreena," Gardner said. "This year, it's just what the defense is giving me. If they give me a lane to drive, I'll drive. It's just a different feel this year."
The Bench
As if the team weren't undermanned enough already, UCLA was without freshman forward Kacy Swain, who suffered a concussion in the first half on Friday. That left coach Cori Close to work with essentially a seven-player rotation, with all seven logging in 20-plus minutes on the floor.
"Fatigue was a factor, but it was all the better because it was another opportunity to learn to become tougher," Close said. "We got beat by West Virginia because we weren't tough enough, so what better way than to be down to seven players and have to play the next day and figure out, 'How do I dig in when I'm really tired?'"
Consequently, the bench generated just 11 and 7 points, respectively, in the past two games. The imminent return of junior Markel Walker from injury, however, should add that much more depth in the scoring department.
News & Notes
On the subject of injuries and bench production, Swain is currently day-to-day and questionable for Wednesday's contest against San Diego State.
Newcomer Madeline Brooks made her collegiate debut at the 3:30 mark of the second half in tonight's game. But to the light-hearted disappointment of radio color analyst Tracy Murray (himself known as a shooter during his playing days at UCLA and in the NBA) and Bruin fans, the freshman walk-on didn't have a chance to hoist up a jumper. The blue and gold tea leaves, though, indicate she'll have a trey notched to her name by the time conference play begins.
