Corinne Costa stands tall for UCLA women’s basketball

From now on, any center playing against UCLA will find herself looking up when she walks out to the jump ball.

She’ll be lined up against Corinne Costa, all six feet and four inches of her.

After sitting out the first nine games of the season with a knee injury and coming off the bench for her next nine, the redshirt junior forward/center finally worked her way into the starting lineup last weekend against No. 4 Stanford and No. 16 California.

This weekend, when UCLA (10-11, 4-5 Pac-12) plays host to Washington (11-9, 3-5 Pac-12) on Friday and Washington State (11-9, 5-3 Pac-12) on Sunday, Costa will once again take her spot in the starting lineup.

It doesn’t matter if she comes off the bench or starts, Costa is usually the tallest player on the court, and she uses that height to anchor the Bruins’ defense.

“I was tall my whole life, even when I was a baby,” Costa said. “As a freshman in high school, I was 6-foot-3, so I’ve only (grown) a couple of inches since then.”

The stunted growth since high school hasn’t really hurt her game. Through 11 games this season, Costa is averaging three blocks a game, which would rank her second in the Pac-12 if she had played enough games to qualify.

Whether it’s a guard who’s made her way past the UCLA wings into the paint or a post player courageous enough to take on a giant, Costa is right there.

With Costa roaming the paint, the burden of defensive anchor has been lifted off juniorcenter Luiana Livulo’s smaller shoulders.

“She just brings energy, she got game,” Livulo said, who may be just one inch shorter than Costa but has a skinnier build. “She blocks shots everywhere, it’s always a block party when she’s on the court.”

In the 10 games that Costa didn’t play this season, UCLA’s defense gave up 74.7 points per game. With her, the Bruins have allowed just 62.1 points.

Knowing that there’s always someone there with the ability to erase mistakes and a voice that keeps the defense on the same page, coach Cori Close said Costa’s presence has allowed the team to be more aggressive and pressure the ball more.

It’s not just the size and shot blocking that has left larger-than-normal fingerprints all over UCLA’s games, but a tremendous passing vision that’s allowed the Bruins to run much of the offense through Costa in the high post.

“She’s actually become probably our best post feeder,” Close said. “She’s almost a second point guard really.”

Aside from senior guard Thea Lemberger, Closesaid Costa has held more decision-making responsibilities on the perimeter than anyone else on the team.

Right before game time, she won’t have the ball in her hands, but Costa will stride out to mid-court. She’ll tower over everyone else, a distinction she’s held since she was a baby.

And once the clock starts running, it won’t be too long before she sends another shot right back into the face of an overeager shooter.