Bruins Need Front-Line Help : UCLA women: Stephens is an offensive force at guard, but only one senior is on the roster.

UCLA has a top scoring threat in Rehema Stephens, a 5-foot-11 junior guard who led the Pacific 10 Conference last season, but the Bruins will be hard-pressed to match their accomplishments of 1989-90.

Sandra VanEmbricqs, Michele Wootton and Sheri Bouldin--a trio that combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds a game last season--have graduated after playing a large part in the team’s scrapping its way into the NCAA playoffs. The Bruins lost in overtime in the first round to Arkansas, 90-80.

Coach Billie Moore, starting her 14th season as UCLA’s coach, has six recruited freshmen and a redshirt freshman, forward Natalie Williams. Many of the freshmen will get considerable playing time.

Williams, at 6-1, is an exceptional athlete who is expected to help the Bruins immeasurably where they need it most--inside. She is currently playing on the women’s volleyball team, though, and won’t be available for basketball until after Christmas.

The only senior on the team is Rachelle Roulier, a 5-10 guard who averaged 4.7 points last season.

“We’ve added six or seven people and we have a dramatic new look,” Moore says. “We have quickness and athletic ability.”

Foremost in both categories is Stephens, who averaged 20.1 points last season.

Unfortunately for Moore, quickness and athletic ability are probably not going to be enough for the Bruins to figure prominently in the Pac-10, let alone the nation. The team, particularly until joined by Williams, is lacking in front-court experience and will have to rely on the effectiveness of its perimeter shooters.

“Our question mark is our front line,” Moore admits. “We’re asking some young people to come in and contribute.”

Listed at center are 6-4 junior Lynn Kamrath, who started 21 games last season, averaging 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds; Dawn Baker, a 6-2 freshman from Ontario High, and Genevieve VanOostveen from the Netherlands.

Laura Collins, a 6-0 freshman forward from North Torrance High, will be counted on to help on the boards and to “add a power dimension” to the Bruins’ game, according to Moore.

On the perimeter, Moore will rely mostly on Stephens and sophomore point guard Nicole Anderson (7.7 points, 3.7 assists). DeDe Mosman, a 5-7 guard who averaged 6.5 points and three assists, and Roulier will be counted on.

“Last year we were a much bigger team; this year we’re not as big,” Stephens said. “From what I can see, we’re a lot more mobile. That’s where we are right now.”

Perhaps the most notable newcomer is Amy Jalewalia, a 6-1 forward from La Quinta High in Westminster. Jalewalia, the state scoring champion last year with a 31.2 average, scored 60 points in a game last season against Kennedy High. “She will play an impact role on this year’s team at both forward positions,” Moore said. “(In practice) she has done beyond what we expected her to do.”

Jalewalia started at forward in the Bruins’ 92-78 victory over Athletes in Action Nov. 8 at Pauley Pavilion, getting six points and seven rebounds.

As expected, Stephens led the Bruins with 27 points and 13 rebounds, but the scoring was somewhat balanced. Kamrath had 10 points and 13 assists, Mosman 15 points and Anderson 11.

In a 82-72 loss Tuesday to a Bulgarian team, Stephens led the Bruins with 23 points.

Other recruits include Detra Lockhart, a guard from Washington High and the Los Angeles City player of the year last season, and Marcy Tarabochia of Skamokawa, Wash.