Tag: Cori Close

Cori Close again seeking more from her team following their win over Cal Poly

Cori Close wants more.

Following the Bruins’ 69-37 win over Cal Poly at home on Monday, UCLA’s head coach Cori Close was again wanting more from her team even in the victory.

“Our achilles heel right now that we need to change right now is two things: how we move the ball and take care of the ball: and two, how we sustained discipline things under our control,” Close said. “We just didn’t stay focused on what our game plan was tonight and how we needed to play.”

Star center Lauren Betts missed the game with an injury but it’s not considered to be a serious issue for the center but Close didn’t want her absence to be an excuse for the team. It’s not the first time this year that Close has been critical of her team after a win, doing so after their Big Ten opening win over Washignton.

“I don’t care that Lauren wasn’t in the lineup,” Close said. “We have so many weapons, we still have a responsibility to play to our identity and ultimately that’s my job to get us in a better position to do that.”

Even with the frustrations, UCLA remains the No.1 team in the country and sits with a perfect 11-0 record entering this weekend’s trip to Northern California for the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic, where the Bruins will face Creighton University Friday night. 

“We need to become more disciplined now,” Close said. “If you don’t, you’re going to either have the pain and discomfort of what it takes to become disciplined or you’re going to choose the pain and discomfort that comes with regret.”

Cori Close praises UCLA’s staff after setting program win record

Strong praise from Cori Close.

After setting a new wins record for the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball program on Saturday with a 101-52 win over Long Beach State, Cori Close was still heaping praise onto others who helped turn the Bruins into a powerhouse.

“I think about people like Billie Moore, who really built UCLA basketball and being one of the women’s Olympic coaches, just doing so many great things and then Pam Walker, she’s been here over 35 years and has gone through multiple staffs and have continued to help us build,” Close said. “The only reason that’s (the record) is meaningful to me is for all the people who have been so loyal and faithful and believed in our mission.”

After being hired in 2011, Close has accumulated a record of 297-140 with eight NCAA tournament appearances. UCLA remains the No.1 team in the country and are still unbeaten at 10-0 on the season.

“I just want to humbly say thank you to them,” Close said. “The reality for me is that I get to work with unbelievable people that really believe in the mission of our program. It is different than other people’s, so to have a staff that, not even just assistant coaches, but support staff and everybody else that is so deeply committed to what we’re trying to do to the lives of the women through basketball is remarkable.” 

UCLA will look to push their win streak to 11 on Monday against Cal Poly, hosting the Mustangs for a 7:00 p.m.

Cori Close speaks of wanting Southern California to ‘set the curve’ for women’s hoops

Cori Close has big visions.

With two Southern California women’s college basketball teams in the top-five of the AP rankings, with UCLA owning the top spot and USC not too far behind at No. 5, women’s basketball is in a good spot in the Golden State. 

During her media availability on Friday, Bruins’ head coach Cori Close voiced the same opinion. 

“I see Southern California basketball is wanting to set the curve in the nation for women’s basketball. We all have a contributing role in that,” Close said. “When you want to grow a sport and you want to go to new levels, you have to take off your institutional hat and you’ve got to work together.” 

Women’s basketball’s growth in the recent years have been apparent and with two of the country’s best college teams, along with some of the top players, residing in Los Angeles, UCLA and other Californian schools have made an effort to help facilitate that growth. 

The Bruins will face several other Californian schools for non-conference games, with Long Beach State on Saturday, Cal Poly on Monday and Pepperdine University last month.

“We’ve got to work together to garner more and more interest surrounding our sport,” Close said. “We have respect for them. We fear no one, we respect everyone and that’s Long Beach State included.”

UCLA will tip-off on the road Saturday afternoon at 2:00p.m. with the Bruins getting a three-week break from Big Ten play after opening conference play on Sunday with a win over Washington.

Cori Close rips Bruins’ effort against Washington in 73-62 win

Honest take here.

Even though the No.1 ranked UCLA Bruins began Big Ten conference play with a win last week over Washington 73-62 on the road, you wouldn’t have guessed that during head coach’s Cori Close media availability on Friday.

“We did not play as well as we needed to and everything is just excuses if you can’t show up with your attitude, your effort and your concentration,” Close said. “Your feelings can’t dictate behaviors.”

UCLA was outrebounded for the first time all year and allowed 24 points to the Huskies during the third quarter of Sunday’s game. 

Despite leaving Seattle with the win, it’s clear that Close wants the Bruins to sharpen their game during their three weeks between Big Ten games, with the Bruins not returning to conference action until Sunday, December 29th at home against Nebraska. 

“Credit to Washington, they’re a really good team. We have a lot of respect for them but we did not give our best effort,” Close said. “We’ve got to turn that around immediately.”

UCLA remains undefeated at 10-0 entering Sunday’s road game against Long Beach State.

Long Beach State no match for No. 1 UCLA

An easy win this time.

The UCLA Bruins doubled up the score on the road against Long Beach State on Saturday with a 102-51 win, with Bruins’ head coach Cori Close setting the program all-time win record as she accrued her 297th win as UCLA’s head coach.

After Close was critical of her team in her record-tying win on Sunday against Washington, the Bruins came out with intensity and handled the Beach throughout the game. The rebounding issues were a thing of the past with UCLA holding a 51-22 advantage on the boards while five Bruins reached double-digit scoring. 

Senior forward Angela Dugalic and junior center Lauren Betts paced the 10-0 Bruins with 22 points each. Betts picked up another double with 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks to go along with her scoring output. 

Junior guard Kiki Rice finished with 12 points and junior forward Gabriela Jaquez added 17 for the Bruins. Off the bench, junior forward Janiah Barker impressed with 19 points off 9-10 shooting and 10 rebounds, with six of those coming on the offensive board.

While junior guard Londynn Jones struggled with her shot, going 1-9 overall, she had a team-high nine assists and three steals to help the Bruins. 

Only eight Bruins played in Saturday’s game, with no one playing less than 18 minutes in the win as Close shortened the rotation despite the lopsided score. Even while UCLA shot 56% from the field, they struggled from three, shooting only 27% on 22 attempts. 

After the big win, UCLA will have a short turnaround as they’ll host Cal Poly in Los Angeles on Monday, with the team looking to move to 11-0 on the season.

Bruins out-rebounded for first time all season in win over Washington

A bittersweet stat.

For the first time all season the UCLA women’s basketball team was out-rebounded on Sunday against Washington in UCLA’s 73-62 win in the Big Ten conference opener.

It’s a surprising outcome that the Bruins were outworked on the boards 32-30 by the Huskies considering UCLA has the third highest rebounding margin this season. The 30 rebounds is a significant drop-off from their season average of 46.3 a game, which is the fifth highest average in the country.

“They were the first team that outrebounded us all year,” Bruins’ coach Cori Close pointed out in the postgame press conference Sunday. “I thought they outhustled us in some ways so I really want to give credit to them and how they played. I thought they played closer to their identity, than we did to ours.”

Junior guard Gabriela Jaquez led UCLA with seven rebounds, while junior center Lauren Betts hauled in just three rebounds while averaging 10.0 per game this season.

“Credit to their 1-4’s that were coming from long distances and really out-hustling us for the ball and out-competing us for rebounds.” Close said of Washington’s rebounding efforts. 

Despite standing just at 5’11”, Washington’s guard Hannah Stines grabbed a game-high eight rebounds against the Bruins.

UCLA will have to wait till Saturday for another chance to put together a better performance rebounding the basketball, when the Bruins will travel to Long Beach State as they look to improve to 10-0.

Cori Close ties UCLA program record with 296 career wins

A historic run for Cori Close.

Not only did the UCLA Bruins win their first-ever Big Ten conference game on Sunday over the Washington Huskies, head coach Cori Close tied Billie Moore for the most wins in program history at 296.

“It means I hired really great people to surround me,” Close in the postgame press conference on what tying Moore means to her. “That’s the only thing it means to me. Not only just assistant coaches, video teams, managers, support staff, administration, that just means I have great people surrounding me.”

Moore was head coach of the Bruins from 1977-1993, meaning Close beat her record in three less years. Close is now 296-140 while the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Moore went 296-181 with UCLA.

“The No.1 thing for me is that none of this has to do with me, this has to do with creating a transformational experience for the young women in our program,” Close said. “I’m thankful just because it allows me to say thank you to the people that have been so loyal and blow wind into our sails.”

Close will have a chance on the road next Saturday for the record on the road against Long Beach State, with the Bruins looking to push their season-opening winning streak to ten games against the Beach.

UCLA women’s basketball 29-24 past eight seasons against ranked opponents

An impressive run for UCLA.

Before the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team opens Big Ten conference play on Sunday against the University of Washington, it’s worth highlighting how successful the Bruins have been in recent years against the top teams in the country. 

Bruin Report writer Mike Regalado posted on Twitter earlier this week that the Bruins are 29-24 against top 25 teams over the past eight seasons, including the Bruins wins over South Carolina and Louisville earlier this season.

Bruins’ head coach Cori Close has a record of 287-140 since becoming UCLA’s head coach back in 2011. Close is third coach in program history to eclipse 200 wins as a head coach. UCLA has nine more games in the regular season against ranked opponents according to the current rankings, with the Bruins likely to see more top 25 teams in the conference and NCAA tournaments.

Despite all of the success for the program under Close, she’s yet to have reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, having made the Elite Eight just once in 2018, with five other Sweet Sixteen appearances. 

With UCLA being the #1 team in the country and having a roster featuring several future WNBA prospects, expectations are only rising for Close and the Bruins in the 2024-2025 season.

DeShaun Foster shouts out UCLA’s women’s basketball team for #1 ranking

Strong praise from Foster!

UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster ended his media availability on Monday with a special message to the UCLA women’s basketball team and head coach Cori Close after they defeated defending champion South Carolina on Sunday and became the AP #1 team in the nation for the first time in school history.

“Hold on, there was one team that beat SC this weekend,” Foster said. “Our women’s basketball team did a great job, came out dominated the #1 team. They’re also the #1 now themselves. I’m just so proud of them and Coach Close, she does a good job over there, she’s truly built a culture.”

After becoming the Bruins head coach in 2011, Close has led UCLA to a 287-140 record, the third coach in program history to record 200 wins. She’s likely to tack onto to that win total, with the Bruins starting the season 5-0 and earning the title as top team in the country.

“They’re always in the top-ten but it was awesome to see them,” Foster said. “The atmosphere that was in that arena, I hadn’t seen anything like that since Baron Davis. It was pretty cool.”

Close responded back to Foster on X saying “Thank you @DeShaunFoster26 and @UCLAFootball . You are really special to us. We appreciate you coming and for all the support. Bruins stick together.” 

Foster and the Bruins will host the Fresno State Bulldogs in the regular season finale for the 4-7 UCLA squad.

Cori Close simplifies UCLA’s win over South Carolina: ‘We have Lauren and they don’t’

An honest take from Cori Close.

The UCLA Bruins’ success against #1 South Carolina can’t be broken down to just one reason, the commanding win to end the Gamecocks’ 43-game win streak required many facets of the Bruins’ game to be top-tier but head coach Cori Close was able to diagnose the win with just six words.

“We have Lauren and they don’t.” Close said on the broadcast in a postgame interview of her junior center Lauren Betts. 

Betts had far from her best scoring performance on Sunday, finishing with just 11 points but her impact far outweighed the 11 points, piling up 14 rebounds and four blocks. An area where Betts has improved in her second season as a Bruin is playmaking. She had four assists in Sunday’s win, with her season average sitting at 3.4 per game, up from only 0.9 last year.

While Close gave the blunt statement about Betts immediately after the Bruins’ 77-62 win on Sunday, she also expressed her respect for South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley.

“First of all they have set the standard,” Close said. “Such a respect for Dawn Staley, and her whole entire staff and team but we believed that we would win. We always say that it begins before it begins and we do the work mentally and we prepared really well.”

Now the Bruins are the #1 team in the country, taking the throne from the Gamecocks this week before returning to action on Friday at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Hawaii against UT Martin.