Tag: UCLA Bruins women’s basketball

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

Cori Close states “That’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.

“That’s just not who we are,” Close said. “I don’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 — we would never do that. And especially would never come from one of my coaches. So we will — maybe she heard something mistakenly but I can tell you, and I’m not saying anything about Angel — I’m just saying from what comes from my camp, absolutely not.”

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.

Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne named to Pac-12 All-Defensive team

Lauren Betta and Charisma Osborne earned Pac-12 All-Defensive team nods.

As the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team prepared for the NCAA Tournament, a couple of their players earned some big recognition.

Both Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne were named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team at the end of the season.

The other members of the Pac-12 All-Defensive team include Cameron Brink from Stanford, Helena Pueyo from Arizona, and Jaylyn Sherrod from Colorado, so it is a talented team all the way around.

Betts has been the most valuable player for UCLA all year long, and when she missed the March Madness opener against California Baptist, there was cause for concern.

In Betts’ absence, Osborne made noise and nearly had a triple-double in the win and certainly showed her worth once again for Cori Close’s team.

This marked the second such award for Osborne and the first for Betts as both players continue to add hardware to their collections.

Cori Close admits it’s not the best roster that will win LSU-UCLA showdown

Which team comes out on top? Cori Close chimed in with her thoughts.

There are infinite storylines as UCLA and LSU battle each other in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Bruins head coach Cori Close hopped on Sirius XM and discussed the matchup and didn’t sound worried about LSU’s star power on the roster:

“It’s a great example that it’s not the best roster that wins, it’s the best team that wins. Basketball is such a connected sport…Talent makes coaches look great. I respect that they got not only Van Lith but also Murrow…How connected are they? How connected are we…I respect them. They have a great individual roster… We got a pretty darn good individual roster too… Who can play with more purpose? Kim Mulkey is a winner…I want us to be the best version of ourselves and that’s more than enough.”

The battle of stars in the LSU-UCLA matchup is something we talked about earlier in the week, and it will be interesting to see which group comes out on top and can make the Elite Eight.

UCLA’s foul trouble could give LSU the edge

UCLA’s foul trouble is one thing to monitor in the Sweet 16 clash.

The 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament has been a lot of fun and there are five Pac-12 teams remaining in the field as the Sweet 16 begins.

Perhaps the biggest matchup of them all is UCLA against LSU, and we have examined a number of storylines entering the game.

Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire touched on the Bruins’ foul troubles and how that could pay a huge dividend for LSU:

LSU plays an aggressive and physical style of basketball. Opponents don’t always know how to handle it which can put them in foul trouble.

We saw it in LSU’s win over Middle Tennessee, where the entire Blue Raider starting lineup was in foul trouble by the third quarter.

UCLA could prove to be a good matchup for LSU here. This Bruins team can get foul-happy at times. UCLA ranks just 222nd in fouls per game and 268th in foul rate. That’s still better than last year, where the same UCLA team ranked 339th nationally in foul rate.

Angel Reese and LSU take on Lauren Betts and UCLA on Saturday in Albany. If the Bruins can avoid foul trouble, they have a good chance of walking away with the win.

UCLA would be LSU’s best win of the year

LSU-UCLA has a ton of hype. Who takes home the victory?

The LSU Tigers won 28 games and have won the first two during the NCAA Tournament. On Saturday, they face UCLA in a tough Sweet 16 showdown in Albany.

However, the 2-seed UCLA Bruins might provide LSU with their biggest challenge in a while.

Will Rosenblatt discussed LSU’s concerns about UCLA’s toughness:

LSU is the favorite, but UCLA would be the best team it’s beaten all year. The Tigers’ best win to date is an 82-64 victory over Virginia Tech in November.

LSU’s struggled against stronger competition. According to the Massey Ratings, LSU is 0-3 in its three toughest games. That includes two losses to South Carolina and one in the season opener to Colorado.

By all measures, UCLA is one of the eight or so best teams in the country. We know LSU has the talent to win this game and the postseason pedigree to go along with it. Still, the Tigers have something to prove after failing to notch a signature win the regular season.

The winner moves on to the Elite Eight to face the winner of Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team and JR Payne’s Colorado squad, so there is a lot on the line in this one.

Who comes out on top?

The Angel Reese-Lauren Betts duel will be worth watching

Get your popcorn ready for Angel Reese vs. Lauren Betts.

UCLA and LSU are set to face off in a Sweet 16 battle in the women’s NCAA Tournament. This game has been discussed a lot, and for good reason.

Angel Reese and Lauren Betts going against each other is aragubaly the best matchup of this game, and Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire examined the rebounding matchup between these two teams:

UCLA leads the sport in rebounding rate with LSU sitting second.

On the offensive glass, LSU leads the way with UCLA ranking third. Together, the two combine to average 90 rebounds per game.

For UCLA, Lauren Betts leads the way with nine rebounds per game but it’s the rebounding depth that sets them apart. Five qualified Bruins average five or more rebounds per game and have rebounding rates over 10%.

But when it comes to pure ability, LSU has the best rebounder in this game with Angel Reese. Her 13.2 per game ranks second nationally. Throw in Aneesah Morrow’s 10 per game, and you get the best rebounding duo in the country.

Betts missed the first game of the NCAA Tournament against California Baptist but returned with a stellar performance in the win over Creighton. Now, she and Reese will go head-to-head in a must-watch battle of star players.