If the Rose Bowl attracts higher attendance for the new football team next season, the aforementioned AD might take down the tarps and reuse them to cover the empty sections in Pauley!
I love Dimitri's post game summaries. I do disagree on a couple points though.
1. I think Rice's game was fine. Not spectacular but not bad. She played good D, generally controlled tempo when needed and rebounded very well for her position. She doesn't need to score 20 every game on this team.
2. If Sienna had just a bit more seasoning I think having both Betts sisters out there would be very effective. Sienna has a more polished mid range out to 3 game than Lauren, she's just young and makes mistakes with vision, decision making and footwork. Sienna could project as a strong stretch 4.
3. I really like CLW and she had a pretty good game. It would be great if she cut down on her unforced turnovers though, they can be momentum killers.
4. I thought the player usage was fine. Muse got a ton of minutes and S Betts played almost the whole 2nd half. I don't think I saw Karamouzi or Bilic but I wonder if they are injured as Bilic would normally get a decent number of minutes in a game like this. Megan Grant wasn't there so there really isn't anyone else to put in the game.
5. Overall: they've spanked pretty much every team in the Big 10 except Ohio State (I think Ohio State is criminally underrated) but I can't shake the feeling that this is the 3rd or 4th best team in the NCAAs, not the 1st or 2nd. I may have PTSD from watching that final four game against UConn live in Tampa but I'd like to see what happens when the talent levels are not so uneven.
There are 12 players on the roster including Timea Gardiner who is most likely going to take a medical red-shirt this season. With Megan unavailable, that leaves 10 players. Karamouzi only played 1 minute but even if she played 5, that wouldn't have significantly decreased the minutes of the rest of the roster. Bilic had averaged 15 minutes so her being unavailable seems likely.
Then the Bruins were down to 9 players. Would not be surprised to see Bilic's and Muse's playing time go down as Sienna gets more comfortable. Going forward, I see the main rotation using only 7 players.
I would expect the depth of the Lady Bruins will enable them to go undefeated until tournament selection and seeding time. And as in the past, even with greater depth, I hope they aren't turnover prone and/or outcoached when they eventually face any of the other top-ranked teams.
I loved that pass from CLW to Gabs in the photo at the top of the article.
Very Nikola Jokic-esque!
One thing to remember with Sienna is she missed the first 10 games of this season. It's of course a steep learning curve going from high school to U.C.L.A. anyway, but she would be a bit further along in her development otherwise.
our athletic department has sucked for the last 25 years, Pauley should have been nearly full for this game.
If you want to see a full and loud Pauley, go to a gymnastics meet.
I just might!
If the Rose Bowl attracts higher attendance for the new football team next season, the aforementioned AD might take down the tarps and reuse them to cover the empty sections in Pauley!
I love Dimitri's post game summaries. I do disagree on a couple points though.
1. I think Rice's game was fine. Not spectacular but not bad. She played good D, generally controlled tempo when needed and rebounded very well for her position. She doesn't need to score 20 every game on this team.
2. If Sienna had just a bit more seasoning I think having both Betts sisters out there would be very effective. Sienna has a more polished mid range out to 3 game than Lauren, she's just young and makes mistakes with vision, decision making and footwork. Sienna could project as a strong stretch 4.
3. I really like CLW and she had a pretty good game. It would be great if she cut down on her unforced turnovers though, they can be momentum killers.
4. I thought the player usage was fine. Muse got a ton of minutes and S Betts played almost the whole 2nd half. I don't think I saw Karamouzi or Bilic but I wonder if they are injured as Bilic would normally get a decent number of minutes in a game like this. Megan Grant wasn't there so there really isn't anyone else to put in the game.
5. Overall: they've spanked pretty much every team in the Big 10 except Ohio State (I think Ohio State is criminally underrated) but I can't shake the feeling that this is the 3rd or 4th best team in the NCAAs, not the 1st or 2nd. I may have PTSD from watching that final four game against UConn live in Tampa but I'd like to see what happens when the talent levels are not so uneven.
There are 12 players on the roster including Timea Gardiner who is most likely going to take a medical red-shirt this season. With Megan unavailable, that leaves 10 players. Karamouzi only played 1 minute but even if she played 5, that wouldn't have significantly decreased the minutes of the rest of the roster. Bilic had averaged 15 minutes so her being unavailable seems likely.
Bilic was ill, per Coach Close. That's why she didn't play.
Then the Bruins were down to 9 players. Would not be surprised to see Bilic's and Muse's playing time go down as Sienna gets more comfortable. Going forward, I see the main rotation using only 7 players.
I think a rotation of 7 will work nicely. But I also think Muse is improving so she could be very valuable down the stretch to rest other players.
I would expect the depth of the Lady Bruins will enable them to go undefeated until tournament selection and seeding time. And as in the past, even with greater depth, I hope they aren't turnover prone and/or outcoached when they eventually face any of the other top-ranked teams.
Go Lady Bruins!
I loved that pass from CLW to Gabs in the photo at the top of the article.
Very Nikola Jokic-esque!
One thing to remember with Sienna is she missed the first 10 games of this season. It's of course a steep learning curve going from high school to U.C.L.A. anyway, but she would be a bit further along in her development otherwise.