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A lot of UCLA fans were disappointed when former All Pacific-10 Conference guard Nickey Hilbert (now Woods) decided not to return for her final year of eligibility during the 1996-1997 season.
How could they not be? Hilbert-Woods was coming off a memorable breakout season for herself in which she averaged 16.9 points per game, including two career-high games of 33 points, while becoming an All-America candidate and forming one of UCLAs most lethal backcourts alongside freshman All-American Erica Gomez.
However, when Gomez went down with an ACL injury prior to her sophomore season, Hilbert-Woods was expected to lead a program debuting one of its most successful in-coming classes ever in Maylana Martin, Marie Philman, Melanie Pearson, Carly Funicello, and Janae Hubbard.
Hilbert-Woods had other plans, though, and that was to transfer to Cal State Dominguez Hills, a Division II school, and finish out her career there while focusing on beginning graduate school. It is a decision that she has never regreted.
"I certainly do not regret the decision to transfer," Hilbert-Woods said through e-mail correspondence. "I had many wonderful experiences before I left (Westwood) and many more after I transferred."
During that breakout season in 1995-1996, Hilbert-Woods played some of her best games against some of the best teams in the nation and was quickly emerging as a player being considered as an All-American candidate. Early in the season, she had scored 25 points in a 70-64 loss to then-No. 5 Vanderbilt. She then teamed with Gomez to help beat a USC team featuring All-WNBA player Tina Thompson, as she tied a career-high 33 points in an 80-64 win over the Trojans. In that game, Gomez recorded a rare triple-double to help in the win.
Her biggest games came against the then-No. 3 ranked Stanford Cardinal -- an eventual Final Four team that season, which featured such players as Kate Starbird, Jamila Wideman, and Vanessa Nygaard. In the first game at Stanford, the Bruins were leading 44-35 at halftime, but couldn't hold on as the Cardinal prevailed 81-77. Hilbert-Woods scored 29 points and coupled with Gomez to lead the Bruins upset-minded charge.
In the contest at Pauley Pavilion in front of a crowd of 3,000-plus, including actor Dustin Hoffman, Hilbert-Woods and Gomez both combined for 25 points, three rebounds and eight assists in the 61-59 loss to the Cardinal. Hilbert-Woods' timely acrobatic shots down the stretch was the sole reason the Bruins nearly pulled off the upset.
Marred by injuries which forced her to red-shirt during her freshman season at UCLA coupled by the fact that she only played three full seasons in Westwood, Hilbert-Woods' name appears in only a couple top 10 categories in the Bruins record books. But, her name should have an asterisk next to it because she surely was on her way to breaking into more categories before she left.
She is No. 8 on the all-time list for 3-pointers made with 54 -- 38 of which were made during her breakout year. She is also No. 6 in 3-pointers attempted and she averaged 10.9 points per game for her three-year career in Westwood.
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| Baby Cameron, Andy and Nickey (Hilbert) Woods |
Now married and with a one-year-old son named Cameron Jakob who was born on March 8, 2001, Hilbert-Woods is currently living in the Bay Area to accommodate her husband's career.
"I married a fellow Pac-10 athlete, Andy Woods from the University of Washington," she said. "I met him while he was in Los Angeles pursuing his second bachelor's degree from Cal State Los Angeles in civil engineering."
Andy was a star on the mens basketball team at Washington.
Hilbert-Woods was a teacher in Long Beach from 1997-2000 in an alternative high school program called Educational Partnership High School. She also coached the boys junior varsity team for one year at Long Beach Wilson High School. Currently she has been busy with her teaching career. She taught 5th grade for one year in the Bay Area, but she and her family will be moving back to Southern California in a few months, "...for good," she said.
"I will probably be teaching again at my former job. My husband and I are also planning on investing in real estate and managing our properties will eventually be my full time job."
Hilbert-Woods also did some acting over the recent years since she departed UCLA. She appeared in the 2000 movie "Love and Basketball," written and directed by UCLA-alum Gina Prince-Bythewood. It starred Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps who played two characters who fall in love while trying to make their own basketball dreams come true. At the end of the scene, Lathan's character is seen playing in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks, as Epps' character cheers her on from the sidelines.
"I was an extra (as a player for the University of Arizona) and I body-doubled the lead actress (Lathan) for some of the basketball scenes," Hilbert-Woods said.
Hilbert-Woods tried to make her own basketball dreams come true when she tried out for the WNBA in the 1997 and 1998 seasons, but a knee injury cut that dream short.
"I tried out for the WNBA, but I injured my knee and had surgery right after my final tryouts. I tried out for the Monarchs and the Sparks," she said. "The knee surgery ended my career, so I don't even play recreational ball anymore. :("
Though many fans were disappointed to see Hilbert-Woods cut her career short by one season at UCLA, she can be forgiven knowing the accomplishments that she has created in her life outside of basketball. She doesnt hesitate to let her fans know that she is happy and that they should keep an eye out in the future when they may once again be cheering for another Hilbert-Woods.
"Gosh, I've rambled on and on, but being a wife and mother is so awesome!" she said. "My son already loves basketball....
"I'm sure you'll know who he is one day. :)" For some blast from the past game stories on Hilbert-Woods, click on the links below. UCLA's guards doom USC_2.26.96 UCLA plays tough vs. No. 5 Vandy_11.27.95 If you are a former player and would like to let Bruin fans know what you've been up to, e-mail me by clicking on the link below. E-Mail |
