UCLA Bruins: Women’s Basketball Team Shows Resilience In Face of Injuries
By Derek Hart
Dec 7, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Nirra Fields (21) passes the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Taya Reimer (12) guard Jewel Loyd (32) and guard Michaela Mabrey (23) defend in the second half at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 90-48. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
SEASON RECORD TO DATE:
10-9, 4-3 and in sixth place in the Pac-12 Conference
Considering the fact that they are rotating only seven players due to season-ending injuries to a quarter of their squad, this UCLA women’s basketball squad needs to be given much respect for what they have done.
After all, any team that has had three players out for much of the season due to injured knees – two of them with torn ACLs suffered before the year began – and one player out due to concussion issues would be expected to be losing and, while they certainly wouldn’t be giving up as a matter of pride, would be operating under the banner of “Wait ‘Til Next Year”.
That third-year head coach Cori Close has not let that happen is most admirable as her team swept the two Oregon schools this past weekend and has climbed past the .500 mark roughly halfway into the Pac-12 schedule.
Three players have done more than take up the slack for these Lady Bruins…
Senior forward Atonye Nyingifa has been the stud on the hardwood, leading the team in both scoring (18 points per game) and rebounding (9.1 rebounds a game).
Nirra Fields, a sophomore guard, and senior point guard Thea Lemberger have likewise done quite well, Fields averaging 17.6 points and 5.9 rebounds a contest while Lemberger’s 15.8 points average, combined with her 3.6 assists, has also earned the proclamation of “Well Done”.
Those three ladies need to be given the utmost respect for holding the team together with their play and not letting the season completely tank.
But I won’t sugarcoat things, either; it’s been a tough go for these women hoopsters of Westwood as their non conference schedule was brutal, getting beaten by such teams as #7-ranked North Carolina, 23rd-ranked North Carolina State, and #2-ranked Notre Dame, who thrashed them by 42 points in South Bend on December 7.
That was what made their 82-76 upset of Oklahoma on November 24 all the more impressive, letting Bruin Nation know that they weren’t going to fold despite essentially having a skeleton crew.
As far as post-season glory, the injuries have pretty much killed those hopes as I, for one, will be more than happy with a plus-.500 record; if these Lady Bruins get into the NCAA tournament, that would be grounds for Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors for Close.
And it’s not as if this storm will last forever as for the first time in program history, this UCLA team has signed the nation’s top recruiting class, led by L.A. Times Player of the Year Jordin Canada and two-time California Coastal Section Player of the Year Kelli Hayes.
The Bruins could sure use those high school seniors now, but as the cliche goes, they have to play the hand they are dealt with.
And with their 10-9 mark, they are playing it well, but trouble in the league of “God help us!” awaits in the form of their next opponent, a team that has owned the Pac-12 in women’s hoops for years.
Dec 7, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; UCLA Bruins forward Atonye Nyinifa (11) dribbles as Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Ariel Braker (44) defends in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Stanford is a perennial Final Four participant, is 16-1 and ranked 4th in the country this year, and is waiting to feast on UCLA when Close’s band of Bruin sisters travel to Palo Alto on January 24.
#19 California also awaits the Bruins two days later on January 26.
And they haven’t been able to beat Stanford in particular even with healthy players.
I have no doubt that Close will have her team ready to give it their absolute best in the Bay Area; I’m positive that UCLA won’t just lay down for the Cardinal and their older Golden Bear sisters from Berkeley.
But to be realistic, it would be a major upset if UCLA won either of those upcoming games, and it would be the upset of the year in women’s college sports if they were to beat Stanford, simply because these Lady Bruins aren’t at full strength.
As such, their resilience has earned them nothing but respect from me.
And the conviction that better times definitely lay ahead for these young ladies.