""It wasn't the games ... it was that in practice we didn't come out with the intensity that we needed," Close said. "There's a standard and if you don't meet it, practice needs to be very uncomfortable. My biggest job is to hold us to that standard day-in and day-out.""
""Maryland plays their butts off, they rebound, they turn people over and they get to the free-throw line," Close said of the Terrapins, who were projected to finish second to UCLA in the Big Ten. "I've been coaching against Brenda Frese since I was at Florida State in the ACC and she has sustained success. She's a heck of a coach. The hardest thing to do is to get really talented players to play hard and selflessly a high percentage of the time, and she does that every year.""
""Each game is an opportunity to get better to learn about ourselves," Rice said. "Nebraska is a really, really good offensive team ... our defense has taken a step up. Minnesota plays really hard and is very well coached. Both games were challenges in different"
The third-ranked UCLA Bruins (16-1, 6-0) have a 10-game winning streak and return to Pauley Pavilion for Big Ten games against Maryland and Purdue. Coach Cori Close implemented a rigorous practice after noting recent workouts lacked necessary intensity and stressed maintaining a high standard daily. Maryland is characterized by physical play, strong rebounding, forcing turnovers and getting to the free-throw line under coach Brenda Frese's sustained success. Senior guard Kiki Rice said each game provides an opportunity to improve and learn, citing recent challenges posed by Nebraska's offense and Minnesota's toughness as growth experiences.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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