Tag: UCLA Bruins women’s basketball

UCLA women’s team lands Washington State transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker

Charlisse Leger-Walker is a Bruin!

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team has been incredibly active in the transfer portal, bringing in five big names. The women’s team has been the opposite, awfully quiet, although Charisma Osborne recently heard her name called during the WNBA Draft.

But, the Bruins women’s team got a massive addition in the transfer portal, landing Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, per her social media account.

She was having a strong season for the Cougars, averaging 13.2 PPG with 6.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists before being ruled out for the year in January due to an injury.

Now, she decided to put off a pro career and play one more year in college.

She will be a big boost to a UCLA program fresh off a Sweet 16 run and getting a ton of players back, including Lauren Betts.

So, Cori Close’s team adds an experienced player looking to make another run at the NCAA Tournament.

Charisma Osborne speaks to Holly Rowe after WNBA Draft selection

Charisma Osborne spoke to Holly Rowe after being drafted by the Mercury.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team saw Chairsma Osborne leave for the WNBA at the end of the season. And, during the 2024 WNBA Draft, Osborne was the first pick in the third round and found a new home with the Phoenix Mercury.

Osborne’s next chapter of her basketball career begins after a stellar run with the UCLA Bruins. After she was selected, she spoke to Holly Rowe about the excitement of being drafted:

“Just bringing all of that with me. I have so much confidence in myself and I have so many people here around to support me, so I’m super excited.”

Osborne played her entire collegiate career with UCLA and was an instrumental part of the success of the Bruins.

Osborne also made sure to thank her coaches, teammates, and, most importantly, her family.

UCLA fans can begin watching Charisma Osborne in the WNBA as she heads for the pros.

Photos of Charisma Osborne’s UCLA career

Hats off to an incredible career for Charisma Osborne.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team has seen Charisma Osborne finish her impressive career in Westwood.

Her final game was against LSU in the Sweet 16 in a tough loss, but she will always be remembered by fans for everything she has done. She finishes her career with the following stats:

  • 152 games played (150 starts)
  • 2,272 points
  • 845 rebounds
  • 477 assists
  • 234 steals
  • Four-time All-Pac-12
  • Two-time Pac-12 All-Defense and All-Tourney
  • Pac-12 All-Freshman

She heard her name called 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday. As she embarks on her new journey, let us examine some of the best photos from Osborne’s memorable run at UCLA.

Charisma Osborne drafted by Phoenix Mercury in WNBA Draft

Charisma Osborne gets selected 25th overall by the Mercury.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team has a lot of pieces returning for next season after a Sweet 16 run. However, one big loss is Charisma Osborne, who played her final game in that loss to the Tigers.

On Monday, Osborne heard her name called in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She was selected with the first pick of the 3rd round by the Phoenix Mercury.

Osborne played all five seasons at UCLA and was an instrumental part of the Bruins success every year. She played in 152 games and started all but two of them, even earning multiple All-Pac-12 honors, including another All-Defensive team award this year.

Her time with the Bruins and at Pauley Pavilion will be remembered for a long time by UCLA fans as she begins her new journey. Here is the video of the announcement of Osborne being selected.

The Mercury also picked Jaz Shelley from Nebraska a few picks later at No. 29 overall.

UCLA women’s team finishes at No. 10 in final AP poll

UCLA lands in the top 10 to end the year.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team has landed at No. 10 in the final Associated Press AP top 25 poll. After South Carolina finished with an undefeated season and a title game win over Iowa, the final poll results were released on Monday.

The Bruins saw their season end in the Sweet 16 against LSU, and they landed in the top 10. Here are the results:

  1. South Carolina
  2. IowaĀ 
  3. UConn
  4. NC State
  5. USC
  6. LSU
  7. Texas
  8. Oregon State
  9. Stanford
  10. UCLA
  11. Notre DameĀ 
  12. Indiana
  13. Baylor
  14. Gonzaga
  15. Colorado
  16. Ohio StateĀ 
  17. Duke
  18. Virginia Tech
  19. Kansas State
  20. Syracuse
  21. OklahomaĀ 
  22. Utah
  23. Creighton
  24. West Virginia
  25. Iowa State

Others Receiving Votes: Tennessee 44, Nebraska 27, Mississippi 24, UNLV 20, Louisville 12, Middle Tennessee 8, North Carolina 7, Fairfield 6, Kansas 4, Alabama 2.

A total of six Pac-12 teams landed in the final AP poll and four of them in the top 10 with the USC Trojans leading the way.

The Bruins’ future is incredibly bright, especially if Lauren Betts returns, and they should be a team to watch as they make the transition to the Big Ten next season.

Angela Dugalic returning to UCLA for fifth year

UCLA Bruins women’s basketball got Angela Dugalic to return for a fifth year with the program.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team fell to the LSU Tigers in the Sweet 16. That game had plenty of buzz, and the future is bright for Cori Close’s team after the loss.

Now, Angela Dugalic has announced her decision to return for a fifth year with the Bruins. She gave the news on an Instagram post on Friday with the caption that reads “Why not? Letā€™s run it back!”

Dugalic has been a big part of the UCLA roster and averaged 9 PPG with 6.6 rebounds this past season, With Charisma Osborne leaving, there could be more opportunity for players such as Dugalic.

She was a starter for the team and had four points with eight rebounds in the Sweet 16 loss but had nine points and seven boards in the Round of 64 win over California Baptist, where Lauren Betts sat out.

Dugalic returning is huge for UCLA.

 

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A post shared by Angela Dugalić (@angeladugalic)

Cori Close chimes in on Angel Reese’s claim in LSU-UCLA handshake line

Cori Close states ā€œThatā€™s just not who we are” after viral handshake line incident.

After the LSU Tigers defeated the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16, there was a clip that went viral of Angel Reese showing displeasure towards one of the UCLA assistants.

Reese mentioned that it wasn’t Cori Close who was making the comments, although the video didn’t show who it was. Over the weekend, UCLA’s head coach chimed in on that discussion, per Andrew Graham of On3.

ā€œThatā€™s just not who we are,ā€ Close said. ā€œI donā€™t want to say anything about Angel, I will only speak to what the Bruins are and the Bruins are classy, speaking life into each other. We are not going to give that any ā€” we would never do that. And especially would never come from one of my coaches. So we will ā€” maybe she heard something mistakenly but I can tell you, and Iā€™m not saying anything about Angel ā€” Iā€™m just saying from what comes from my camp, absolutely not.ā€

Here’s the video of the incident:

Reese didn’t go into details on exactly what was said, other than “It was another coach that was talking a little crazy.”

LSU saw its season end at the hands of Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight on Monday.

Lauren Betts named to Albany 2 All-Regional team in NCAA Tournament alongside Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese

Congrats to Lauren Betts after a massive NCAA Tournament run.

The NCAA women’s tournament continued on Monday in the Elite Eight with Iowa and LSU facing off and UConn and USC facing off.

During the Iowa-LSU game in the Albany 2 regional, it was announced that UCLA Bruins star Lauren Betts was named to the Albany 2 Regional All-Tournament team.

The other four members were all a part of the LSU-Iowa game and they are as follows:

  • Caitlin Clark, Iowa
  • Sydney Affolter, Iowa
  • Angel Reese, LSU
  • Flau’jae Johnson, LSU

Betts had a terrific run in the tournament despite missing the Round of 64 game against 15-seed California Baptist. Betts had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Creighton and then 14 points with 17 rebounds and four blocks in the Sweet 16 loss to LSU.

Betts got emotional after the loss to LSU and for good reason, but if she returns to UCLA next season, she will be a massive player to watch as the Bruins make their way to the Big Ten Conference.

Lauren Betts gets emotional on UCLA seniors after Sweet 16 loss

Lauren betts is going to miss the seniors.

It was an emotional day for the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team. Their season came to an end with a loss to LSU in the Sweet 16.

After the game, star center Lauren Betts talked about the impact the seniors have had on the team and what it will be like without them going forward:

“The seniors mean a lot to me…I think this year’s been a struggle for me specifically… I can’t thank the seniors enough for what they’ve done for me…I’m so thankful for her…I know they are going to do really big things and I’m so proud of them.”

Betts had another strong game with 14 points and 17 rebounds but it wasn’t enough as LSU came out on top. Assuming Betts will be back, she should be the central point of the UCLA team once again, but losing the seniors is going to have a tough impact and be a difficult obstacle to overcome for this team.

UCLA women’s team falls in Sweet 16 to LSU

UCLA’s season has come to an end.

The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team has seen their season come to an end. In a highly-anticipated showdown with LSU, the Tigers came out on top in Albany on Saturday with a 78-69 victory over UCLA.

Lauren Betts once again dominated, which is nothing new, as she scored 14 points with 17 rebounds and four blocks to lead the way. Londynn Jones also had 14 points with Kiki Rice adding 13 points.

Gabriela Jaquez chipped in another 14 bench points, but it wasn’t enough against the reigning champions.

Flau’Jae Johnson led all scorers with 24 points and 12 rebounds and Angel Reese had 16 and 11 as four of the five LSU starters notched double figures in points.

Still, it was a terrific season for UCLA and Cori Close’s team will be back as they head to the Big Ten Conference in 2024.

LSU will now face 1-seed Iowa led by Caitlin Clark on Monday in a must-watch game for a trip to the Final Four.