In routing No. 12 Maryland 97-67 Sunday, No. 3 UCLA showed off their connectivity and depth.
There was a behind-the-back pass from point guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, and a quick rebound on a teammate’s miss from Amanda Muse, who quickly dropped it through the net. There was the dominating presence of center Lauren Betts, who was overhead with her arms up every time a Terp player made it into the paint.
In the end the 17-1 Bruins shot 63 percent from the field and 57 percent from three, and saw five players score in double figures, with only two playing a team-high 33 minutes. They won the rebounds battle, 46-24, and dished 31 assists to their opponent’s 13.
Maryland coach Brenda Frese acknowledged that she was playing several freshmen against a veteran team that went to the Final Four last season. But she said UCLA had too many weapons.
“They play the right way, and they make you pay for any mistake,” Frese said. “It was their strength and depth that really wore us out.”
Gabriela Jaquez lead the Bruins with 22 points, while Leger-Walker put up 17 points and Gianna Kneepkens, 16. Angela Dugalic came off the bench for 12 points, and Betts posted 11.
Kneepkens, who transferred from Utah last year, said depth is exactly what she was seeking out.
“I wanted to be on a team where it’s really hard to scout us,” she said. “(Opponents) can try to take one away, but there are 4-6 other people to worry about too. It’s hard for other teams to figure (us) out…..it’s truly ‘pick your poison.’ And it takes pressure off, because you don’t need to shoot 100 percent to win a game.”
UCLA has been playing solidly all season long, despite some slow game starts. But their strong off-court bonds are starting to raise their level of play in game situations, and they aren’t focused on rankings.
“What’s been fun is to see how different teams try to scheme against us, and to see how we can adjust in-game,” said Leger-Walker, another transfer. “It’s been a fun thing to work on, and to keep figuring out from game to game how people are trying to play us. You can play some really fun basketball.”
Bruin coach Cori Close has called this year’s squad the hardest-working team she’s ever had. It’s also one of the most veteran-laden and battle-tested.
“It’s the little plays, little reads, little adjustments in games that comes from experience,” she said. “We can make those kinds of adjustments because their mental knowledge of the game is really well-balanced.”
But though UCLA has run past numerous teams this season, Close said it is her job to keep pushing her players and “hold the standard.”
“Even when the score doesn’t say it, it’s my job to hold it,” she said.
This caused Close to change her approach this year, as the team strives to return to the Final Four.
“I had to distance myself a little bit,” she said. “I always wanted to be a relational coach, but what they need from me is for me to say the hard things, no matter what.”
It is not a task for the faint of heart.
“It’s exhausting,” Close said. “I have to get myself ready to say every little thing. I’m on them, on them, on them. I’ll ask, ‘do you want the bar lower?’ They say no.”
“This is about empowering our team to be sufficient and player-lead.”
Like many teams around the country, the Bruins reloaded last year after several players transferred. Close trimmed the roster to 11, and the new team found quick chemistry and cohesion.
“This year our pieces just fit a little more together, and we have a more complete puzzle,” Close said.
Even so, she is acutely aware that her team has work to do over the next two months.
“Two of the most urgent things we need to fix is turnover possession, and (limiting) three-point attempts,” she said. “Offensive efficiency and defensive consistency is what we look at every week.”
And in the ultra-competitive Big Ten, there is no time to waste.
“We always tell them that March is happening now. We try to get a few more possessions worth of consistency every single day,” Close said.
Next up for UCLA: Purdue at home on Wednesday.