UCLA exhibition

[Plebe]

I attended this afternoon's exhibition game between UCLA and Vanguard, a mere 16 days before UCLA will be hosting UConn.

Vanguard is a winning NAIA program. Won a national championship in 2008, and last year had a 30-4 season that ended with a loss in the national semifinal. Just three days ago, Vanguard kept it respectably close against Cal (playing without Anigwe) in a 71-57 loss.

In this game UCLA led 18-3 after a quarter and ended up winning 87-40. A few observations:

• Coach Close really spread out the playing time. All 10 players who were suited up played at least 14 minutes each.
• Redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro filled the one starting position vacated by graduation from last year, and she made a lot of good plays: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
  
• True freshmen Chantel Horvat (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Michaela Onyenwere (14 points, 9 rebounds) are ready to contribute significantly. Horvat is a 6-1 guard from Australia with a polished and versatile game, and she played with poise and confidence. Onyenwere showed a tremendous nose for the ball (5 steals) and plays larger than her 5-11 height. The other two freshmen (Miller, Owens) who make up this 6th-ranked recruiting class each had some nice moments as well.
• UCLA's starters from last year (Canada, Billings, Burke, Hayes) all looked like their usual selves. Canada had 6 assists and 5 steals in just 21 minutes. Burke was 1 point shy of a double-double. Billings (a jaw-dropping athlete) was 1 board shy of a dub-dub in 17 minutes of play, but she committed some loose fouls that she cannot afford to commit against elite teams.
  
• On a concerning note: Lajahna Drummer, a redshirt junior and former HS all-American who missed last year with an injury, did not suit up for this game. I'm looking forward to an explanation of her status.
• UCLA did the majority of their scoring in transition and on the offensive glass. They recorded 17 steals and forced 23 turnovers overall. But their half-court offense was less than smooth, and they were ice-cold from outside (2 of 13 from 3pt, with both makes coming in the 4th quarter).

UCLA will have two more games to get ready for Baylor on Nov. 18 and then UConn on Nov. 21. My personal opinion is that they are very capable of beating Baylor, but I can't see them staying close with UConn over 40 minutes unless UConn has a very off night.

I can't wait. It'll be my first time to see a UConn game in person.

 

[j66kicker]

I attended this afternoon's exhibition game between UCLA and Vanguard, a mere 16 days before UCLA will be hosting UConn.

Vanguard is a winning NAIA program. Won a national championship in 2008, and last year had a 30-4 season that ended with a loss in the national semifinal. Just three days ago, Vanguard kept it respectably close against Cal (playing without Anigwe) in a 71-57 loss.

In this game UCLA led 18-3 after a quarter and ended up winning 87-40. A few observations:

• Coach Close really spread out the playing time. All 10 players who were suited up played at least 14 minutes each.
• Redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro filled the one starting position vacated by graduation from last year, and she made a lot of good plays: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
  
• True freshmen Chantel Horvat (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Michaela Onyenwere (14 points, 9 rebounds) are ready to contribute significantly. Horvat is a 6-1 guard from Australia with a polished and versatile game, and she played with poise and confidence. Onyenwere showed a tremendous nose for the ball (5 steals) and plays larger than her 5-11 height. The other two freshmen (Miller, Owens) who make up this 6th-ranked recruiting class each had some nice moments as well.
• UCLA's starters from last year (Canada, Billings, Burke, Hayes) all looked like their usual selves. Canada had 6 assists and 5 steals in just 21 minutes. Burke was 1 point shy of a double-double. Billings (a jaw-dropping athlete) was 1 board shy of a dub-dub in 17 minutes of play, but she committed some loose fouls that she cannot afford to commit against elite teams.
  
• On a concerning note: Lajahna Drummer, a redshirt junior and former HS all-American who missed last year with an injury, did not suit up for this game. I'm looking forward to an explanation of her status.
• UCLA did the majority of their scoring in transition and on the offensive glass. They recorded 17 steals and forced 23 turnovers overall. But their half-court offense was less than smooth, and they were ice-cold from outside (2 of 13 from 3pt, with both makes coming in the 4th quarter).

UCLA will have two more games to get ready for Baylor on Nov. 18 and then UConn on Nov. 21. My personal opinion is that they are very capable of beating Baylor, but I can't see them staying close with UConn over 40 minutes unless UConn has a very off night.

I can't wait. It'll be my first time to see a UConn game in person.

Thanks for the great report. I will be at the UCLA game too, and I know others will be. We should organize a pre-game BY meet-up.

 

[southie]

Thanks for sharing.

UCLA is one of my strong contenders for a Final Four berth. They get Texas Tech transfer, guard Japreece Dean eligible in late December, too.

Texas and UCLA played a scrimmage in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago. Some unconfirmed reports were that Texas raced out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and went on to win comfortably.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I attended this afternoon's exhibition game between UCLA and Vanguard, a mere 16 days before UCLA will be hosting UConn.

Vanguard is a winning NAIA program. Won a national championship in 2008, and last year had a 30-4 season that ended with a loss in the national semifinal. Just three days ago, Vanguard kept it respectably close against Cal (playing without Anigwe) in a 71-57 loss.

In this game UCLA led 18-3 after a quarter and ended up winning 87-40. A few observations:

• Coach Close really spread out the playing time. All 10 players who were suited up played at least 14 minutes each.
• Redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro filled the one starting position vacated by graduation from last year, and she made a lot of good plays: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
  
• True freshmen Chantel Horvat (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Michaela Onyenwere (14 points, 9 rebounds) are ready to contribute significantly. Horvat is a 6-1 guard from Australia with a polished and versatile game, and she played with poise and confidence. Onyenwere showed a tremendous nose for the ball (5 steals) and plays larger than her 5-11 height. The other two freshmen (Miller, Owens) who make up this 6th-ranked recruiting class each had some nice moments as well.
• UCLA's starters from last year (Canada, Billings, Burke, Hayes) all looked like their usual selves. Canada had 6 assists and 5 steals in just 21 minutes. Burke was 1 point shy of a double-double. Billings (a jaw-dropping athlete) was 1 board shy of a dub-dub in 17 minutes of play, but she committed some loose fouls that she cannot afford to commit against elite teams.
  
• On a concerning note: Lajahna Drummer, a redshirt junior and former HS all-American who missed last year with an injury, did not suit up for this game. I'm looking forward to an explanation of her status.
• UCLA did the majority of their scoring in transition and on the offensive glass. They recorded 17 steals and forced 23 turnovers overall. But their half-court offense was less than smooth, and they were ice-cold from outside (2 of 13 from 3pt, with both makes coming in the 4th quarter).

UCLA will have two more games to get ready for Baylor on Nov. 18 and then UConn on Nov. 21. My personal opinion is that they are very capable of beating Baylor, but I can't see them staying close with UConn over 40 minutes unless UConn has a very off night.

I can't wait. It'll be my first time to see a UConn game in person.

I watched the April UClA game vs Uconn it was a good game, impressed with UCLA and other state if they continue their path FF is possible.
Good review/analysis. I like that the coach evenly spread the minutes apparently Coach feels his players are equal.

 

[Plebe]

Thanks for sharing.

UCLA is one of my strong contenders for a Final Four berth. They get Texas Tech transfer, guard Japreece Dean eligible in late December, too.

Texas and UCLA played a scrimmage in Colorado Springs a few weeks ago. Some unconfirmed reports were that Texas raced out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, and went on to win comfortably.

Coach Close alluded to the Texas scrimmage in her postgame comments:
UCLA uses balance, tough defense to rout Vanguard, 87-40

The Bruins considered their defensive effort a step up from last weekend, when they lost to Texas in a closed scrimmage in Colorado Springs. Close said she was happy to see stifling defense from her team.

“If I had to choose one I’d choose (defense), because I thought the opposite was the case in our closed scrimmage with Texas,” she said. “We were a little lackadaisical on the defensive end, and we’ve been spending 90 percent of our time this week on our defense.​

The same article says that Drummer "'took a hit' in practice this week and sat out as a precaution."