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.