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Only four games into her UCLA career, freshman guard Ashlee Trebilcock announced Wednesday that she will transfer from the women’s basketball program at the end of the fall quarter. Trebilcock will no longer be affiliated with UCLA, and her decision came as shocking news to her coaches as well as her teammates.

“It was a complete surprise; I was taken back by it,” coach Kathy Olivier said. “Nobody saw it coming.”

Trebilcock first voiced concerns about how she was fitting in with the team on Monday, a couple of days after the Bruins won the LMU/Ayres Hotel Thanksgiving Classic.

Although Trebilcock met with Olivier and her teammates to discuss why she decided to leave the program after only two weeks, there is still some uncertainty about why Trebilcock felt it was time to go.

Trebilcock will lose her entire first year of eligibility even though she only played in four games, and she will start to look at other schools once she is officially granted her release from the university at the end of December.

The series of events unfolded so quickly, it left the team wondering whether Trebilcock had made a wise decision.

“Ashlee had to make her own choice,” junior guard Noelle Quinn said. “But I know that when I was a freshman, I had an adjustment period as well. I had to get through conference play and my first year at school before I really felt comfortable. (Trebilcock’s decision) felt kind of rushed.”

One of UCLA’s biggest recruits in recent years, Trebilcock figured to be a central figure on the team for the next four years.

Her transfer seems to have greater implications down the road, as this year’s club features all five returning starters.

But with senior guards Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis in their last season with the program, Trebilcock was the heir apparent as the team’s next premier scorer.

“Ashlee’s playing time was going to increase as the season went on, and her role would have gotten bigger,” Olivier said. “She was someone we thought would be huge for us over the next few years.”

Trebilcock, who was a second-team Parade Magazine All-American and was recruited out of nearby Hart High School, averaged 17.8 minutes and 3.5 points over her first and only four games at UCLA.

Losing a player who added depth in the backcourt and offensive firepower off the bench, the Bruins are trying not to dwell on Trebilcock’s absence and regain focus on upcoming games at Clemson and No. 21 Oklahoma.

Trebilcock’s former teammates are put in the precarious position of trying to acknowledge that a member of their Bruin family has left while not losing sight of the collective goals.

“We all felt for her, but our focus now has to be on what we want to accomplish as a team,” sophomore forward Lindsey Pluimer said.

“This team has bonded so much over the last year, and we know exactly what we want to achieve,” Quinn said. “I don’t think this will affect us too much.”

The Bruins are now left wondering why their prized freshman didn’t feel at home in Westwood, and must find a way to fill the void she left behind.

“She is a very talented player, she was definitely going to be a go-to player in the future,” Olivier said. “Other players are going to be given an opportunity now, and they must step up.”