Réjane Verin (no. 10) struggles for the rebound.
Réjane Verin (no. 10) struggles for the rebound.

The UCR women’s basketball team picked up two wins on the road last week to move their conference record to 4-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season. On Thursday, the Highlanders defeated the Long Beach State 49ers, 78-60, and picked up a 77-74 comeback victory over Hawaii on Saturday. There are always both good and bad aspects to take out of a win, so here are yays and nays for women’s hoops this week.

Yays

Second quarter performance

Closing out a game is usually considered to be one of the most important aspects of winning in basketball, but the Highlanders’ week was defined by the way they ended the half instead. The Highlanders outscored Long Beach State 29-12 in the second quarter, a run that blew the game wide open. On Saturday, a second quarter where the Highlanders outscored Hawai’i paved the way for their second half comeback, scoring only 14 points in the first quarter. Entering halftime in a position to win is pivotal in either securing a lead or paving the way for a second half comeback. The Highlander’s were able to do both this week.

Three-point Defense

Like many of the Highlander teams before it, this team doesn’t win games by shooting the lights out from beyond the arc, only taking 12 three-pointers in the game against Long Beach State and against Hawaii. The team was able to mitigate that weakness this week by mostly neutralizing both the 49ers’ and the Rainbow Warriors’ attacks from beyond three-point range. Long Beach State shot only 5-21 from distance, making the same amount as UCR despite the Highlanders shooting 1-6 from three in the second half. Hawai’i managed only 7-18 from beyond the arc as well, also coming in below 40 percent.

Crain and Verin

The two-headed scoring machine of senior guard Brittany Crain and redshirt junior forward Rejane Verin churned once again for the Highlanders last week. On Thursday, Verin set the nets ablaze with 34 points on 14-22 shooting while adding 10 boards to lead the charge for the Highlanders. Against Hawai’i, it was Crain who starred, scoring 31 on 10-17 shooting, including 14 of UCR’s 22 points in the fourth. The duo ended the week as the top two scorers in the Big West, with Crain averaging 19.2 points per game and Verin following closely at 17.9. This feat is especially impressive considering the two have only played together for one year, as Verin sat out all of last year due to ineligibility after transferring from UNLV. When these two are scoring with the efficiency they showed this past week, the Highlanders are a very tough opponent to handle.

 

Nays

Bench Scoring

The Highlanders’ bench was stymied during both games this past week. Against Long Beach State, the bench was outscored 42-11, yet were saved by poor production from the 49ers’ starters. In order to prove themselves as a complete team, it is crucial for the Highlanders to minimize the opponent’s bench production. Their lack of bench scoring was again exploited on Sunday as the Hawai’i bench outscored the Highlander reserves 29-12, led by a combined 20 points from Briana Harris and Megan Huff. Whether it is jumpstarting the offense on the bench or stopping the opponent’s second unit from finding leaks in the defense, the Highlanders will have to shrink the bench scoring margins moving forward.

Cleaning the Boards

While covering the team last week, one of the issues I noted was that the Highlanders have struggled all year with keeping control of their rebounding. The team did manage to keep the total boards even against Long Beach State but the 49ers were able to grab 16 offensive rebounds — the type which can be more disheartening for an opposing defense. Luckily for UCR, Long Beach only managed to score five points with their second-chance opportunities. Against Hawaii, the Highlanders were out-rebounded by two and allowed nine offensive rebounds. Despite this, rebounding remains an area where the Highlanders can improve in order to make a run at the Big West Conference title, and perhaps even a Cinderella run in March.