UCLA women’s basketball to face two ranked Arizona teams on road

A pair of ranked teams are on the horizon for the Bruins.

No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball (18-1, 7-1 Pac-12) will travel to the Grand Canyon State to take on No. 16 Arizona (16-3, 5-3) in Tucson on Friday and No. 19 Arizona State (15-5, 5-3) in Tempe on Sunday. The road trip will mark the first and only time all season that the Bruins will face back-to-back AP top-25 teams on the road.

“It’s all about mindset, preparation, toughness and togetherness,” said coach Cori Close. “Arizona and Arizona State are playing at a really high level right now. They’re much improved from the first time we played them and our job is to rise up in our own improvement.”

Starting this weekend, five of the Bruins’ next six opponents are currently ranked, and four of those contests will take place on the road.

So far this season, UCLA has played just three ranked teams.

“It’s a great challenge for us because after there’s going to be the Pac-12 tournament and NCAA tournament, so it’s just getting us prepared for hard teams,” said freshman guard Charisma Osborne. “(Going) back-to-back-to-back, giving your all, will just help us for when we have those harder games in the tournaments.”

UCLA’s 70-58 victory over Arizona on Jan. 5 was the beginning of a three-game losing streak for the Wildcats. Arizona bounced back with three straight victories, a streak it’s still riding.

The Wildcats boast the Pac-12’s leading scorer in guard Aari McDonald, who averages just over 20 points a game. In this season’s first matchup between UCLA and Arizona, McDonald scored 19 points, but did so shooting 7-of-20 from the field and 2-of-9 from the perimeter – both down from her usual percentages.

Close said Osborne – who is second for the Bruins in both steals and blocks – will be key in slowing down McDonald.

“A lot of that credit goes to Osborne – I think she is an elite defender, she’s been able to keep people in front of her,” Close said. “(McDonald is) an elite player and it’s going to be a great challenge.”

Last time UCLA and Arizona State played on Jan. 3, the Sun Devils outrebounded the Bruins 44-36, including a 20-16 margin on the offensive glass.

Holding a two-point lead with just 20 seconds left in the game, UCLA gave up four offensive rebounds in the last possession alone, but still survived to win the game 68-66.

Junior forward Lauryn Miller – who was on the bench with four fouls that last possession – said rebounding will be a point of emphasis against the Sun Devils, who rank second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game.

“(Rebounding) is definitely something we’ve honed in on this season,” Miller said. “We know Arizona State is a tough, gritty team so we have to make sure we’re on the boards.”

Tip off against Arizona will be at 5 p.m. Friday and the Arizona State game will tipoff at 11 a.m. Sunday.