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Despite slow start, women’s basketball captures victory over Cougars

Junior forward Michaela Onyenwere scored 23 points in No. 10 UCLA women’s basketball’s win over Washington State at home Sunday afternoon. The game was her fifth straight in which she scored double figures. (Andy Bao/Daily Bruin)

Women's Basketball


Washington State50
No. 10 UCLA60

By Dylan Dsouza

Jan. 27, 2020 12:41 a.m.

Right after the national anthem, coach Cori Close found out about the passing of former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

She chose not to share the tragic news with her players before the game.

In her opening statement, Close expressed her condolences and gratitude to be able to coach.

“I just had to tell the team, and there are no words,” Close said. “My response as a leader is to make sure I cherish every day and relish every opportunity because the next isn’t promised.”

Despite going 0-of-15 from beyond the arc, No. 10 UCLA women’s basketball (18-1, 7-1 Pac-12) defeated Washington State (9-11, 2-6) by a score of 66-50. The Bruins were fueled by 14 steals – tied for most in a game this season – and only eight turnovers – tied for the fewest of the year.

Close said she was pleased with the aggression her team showed throughout the game.

“They really did what I wanted them to do in terms of getting to the paint and really attack downhill,” Close said. “We really challenged (the players) in the second half to see how many easy shots we can create for each other.”

Junior forward Michaela Onyenwere led the Bruins in scoring for the second straight game, dropping 23 points to go along with six rebounds.

“I was just basing (my offense) on how the defense was playing me,” Onyenwere said. “My team did a good job of finding me in open space and I was able to get deep seals on their post players.”

For the second straight game, UCLA got off to a slow start, going down 7-4 early in the first quarter and ending the quarter tied at 14 apiece.

Freshman guard Charisma Osborne kept the Bruins in the game with 8 of her 16 total points coming in the first quarter. She also hauled in five rebounds, two days after grabbing a career-high 12 boards.

“Rebounding is pretty important to me and the team,” Osborne said. “I know (Close) was telling me that she wants me to get one rebound every three minutes.”

The Bruins managed to restrict Cougar guard Chanelle Molina to four points on 2-of-16 shooting along with six turnovers. She has averaged 15.1 points per game on 45% shooting from the field this season.

“I didn’t think ‘Bobby Buckets,’ as we call her, could get into a rhythm,” Close said. “(The Cougars) rely so much on her and I think that’s because we did have progress in executing the game plan and taking their first and second options away.”

Junior guard Chantel Horvat did not participate in Sunday’s matchup as a precaution, since she is coming back from injury this season after missing the final 26 games of the 2018-2019 season.

“We knew going into this year that we had to be careful,” Close said. “These Friday and Sunday (games) are really hard for (Horvat), just what she’s coming back from, so it’s a load management issue. We really want to take a long-term approach with this, so our training staff got together and decided that it was just not wise.”

The Bruins will face ranked teams in each of their next three games, going on the road at No. 18 Arizona, No. 16 Arizona State and No. 6 Stanford.

“The mindset has to be that this is going to demand our best,” Close said. “This is going to demand growth. … It’s going to tell me as a coach exactly where we are.”

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Dylan Dsouza | Alumnus
Dsouza joined The Bruin as a freshman in 2016 and contributed until he graduated in 2020. He spent time on the women's basketball, men's basketball, women's tennis, men's tennis and women's volleyball beats.
Dsouza joined The Bruin as a freshman in 2016 and contributed until he graduated in 2020. He spent time on the women's basketball, men's basketball, women's tennis, men's tennis and women's volleyball beats.
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