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Message: [QUOTE="Plebe, post: 2403334, member: 6927"] 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: [LIST] [*]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). [/LIST] 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. [/QUOTE]

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