Bruins start over with fresh crowd

In her 15th season as UCLA women’s basketball coach, Kathy Olivier can usually recite her starting five by Labor Day. Not this time. The season-opening tipoff is at her doorstep and Olivier seems unconcerned who will initially take the floor.

“It really doesn’t matter if you start on this team,” Olivier said. “You’re going to contribute, you’re going to play. Now, what you do with your minutes will establish how long you’re in there.”

Lindsey Pluimer, the team’s lone senior, is a lock to start at small forward, but there’s competition at every other position. Olivier’s largest and what has been billed as her highest-ranked recruiting class is a major contributor to the team’s depth.

The Bruins have 13 players on the roster, and Olivier can envision 11 or 12 getting playing time, or even starting.

“That hasn’t been the case the last few years,” she said. “We can stay fresher because of that, and we can play more up-tempo, which we like to do. I think it’s going to be nothing but a bonus.”

There has been only one hitch so far. Center Chinyere Ibekwe, one of three returning starters, was suspended Friday for violating team rules.

Ibekwe, a 6-foot-4 junior who averaged 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds last season, will sit out both exhibition games as well as the team’s first two regular-season games.

Otherwise, things are falling into place as the team prepares to open the season at Cal State Northridge in a nonconference game Nov. 14.

Although the Bruins lost five seniors from a team that finished seventh in the Pac-10 Conference, Olivier expects the six freshmen and rapidly progressing sophomores Erica Tukiainen and Moniquee Alexander to fill their shoes.

“They brought a lot of quickness, and they have a lot of creativity,” Olivier said of the freshmen class. “It’s a good creativity, and this group really wants to win.”

Because of the influx of newcomers, as well as communication gaps among last season’s team members, Olivier thought it was a good idea to hire a motivational speaker to spend a few hours working on team chemistry. The players weren’t thrilled when they saw their afternoon was reserved on the team calendar, but quickly bought into the exercises.

“I was thinking about doing it last year,” Olivier said. “Because we had five seniors, I thought the seniors would show them the way and, obviously I kick myself now because we could’ve used that.”

The Bruins, who finished 14-18 last season, including 7-11 in conference, also will miss the creativity and quiet confidence of last season’s point guard, Noelle Quinn.

Olivier said she was instrumental in getting others involved in the offense and kept things loose on the court with her amusing personality, even though she was playing out of position.

“If you bust down the floor, Noelle’s going to find a way to give you a fun pass that will lead to a basket,” Olivier said. “Noelle is a contagious type of player, so entertaining and such a good spirit to her.”

Now, the team will lean on Pluimer to provide confidence and execution when games are tight.

Pluimer, who stands 6 feet 4, was second on the team in scoring last season at 15.5 points a game and has started every game in her three-year career. Olivier considers Pluimer to be the team’s best shooter, but others must get her the ball in scoring situations.

The last couple of years, that role was shared by Quinn, Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis, all now playing in the WNBA.

“That’s a big adjustment for me,” Pluimer said. “The last three years, I’ve relied on Nikki Blue and Noelle to create and then they dish to me. A lot of my points came from that, so this year I’m really focused on trying to create my own shot.”

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dan.arritt@latimes.com

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Scouting report

* They’re back: F Lindsey Pluimer, 6-4, Sr. (15.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 81.7 FT%); C Chinyere Ibekwe, 6-4, Jr. (7.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg); G Tierra Henderson, 5-10, Jr. (5.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg).

* They’re new: F Candice Brown, 6-3, Fr., Bishop Amat HS; F Christina Nzekwe, 6-4, Fr., Seattle (Wash.) Chief Sealth HS; F Nina Earl, 6-1, Fr., Diamond Ranch HS; C Regina Rogers, 6-3, Fr., Seattle (Wash.) Chief Sealth HS; G Doreena Campbell, 5-10, Fr., Alexandria (Va.) Edison HS; G Darxia Morris, 5-8, Fr., Muir HS.

* Last season: 14-18, seventh in Pacific 10 Conference.

* This season depends on: Finding the right combinations on a team that features six incoming freshmen. The team’s lone senior, Lindsey Pluimer, needs to develop ways to create shots or get to the free-throw line.

* Offensively: The Bruins will need a second option to step up behind Pluimer. Second-year players Erica Tuniainen and Moniquee Alexander have improved significantly, but at least one of the freshmen will also need to share the scoring load.

* Defensively: Six Bruins players stand 6 feet 3 or taller, so rebounding and shot-blocking should be strong. Tierra Henderson had 2.09 steals a game last season.

* X-factor: Moniquee Alexander. The 6-6 sophomore center has new confidence from the off-season and could score easy baskets in the half-court game. Coach Kathy Olivier is waiting to see whether her attitude transfers to the floor.

-- Dan Arritt