UCLA to face USC in quarterfinals with No. 2 seed in Pac-12
Freshman guard Charisma Osborne was named to the All Pac-12 Freshman team at the end of the regular season after she was the third-leading scorer for No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball, behind only junior forward Michaela Onyenwere and redshirt senior guard Japreece Dean – both of whom were named to the All Pac-12 team.(Niveda Tennety/Assistant Photo editor)
By Jon Christon
March 6, 2020 1:56 a.m.
It’s survive and advance season for the Bruins.
No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball (25-4, 14-4 Pac-12) clinched the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 tournament – the highest seed it has ever gotten under coach Cori Close – which is good for a first-round bye. The Bruins’ first matchup will be against No. 7 seed USC (17-13, 8-10) in the quarterfinals Friday, which is coming off a victory over No. 10 seed Colorado (16-13, 5-13) on Thursday.
Junior forward Michaela Onyenwere, UCLA’s leading scorer, said regardless of how high they are ranked, every game will be a challenge going forward.
“When we played Oregon (last season in the Pac-12 tournament), I remember thinking in my head, ‘This feels like an Elite Eight game,’” Onyenwere said. “People who you think were easy to beat (in the regular season) are gonna be focused because the stakes are a lot higher. Everyone wants what you have or what you’re trying to compete for, so it’s gonna be a dog fight and everybody’s gonna come to compete.”
In last season’s tournament, Onyenwere led the Bruins in scoring with 18.5 points per game over two games. UCLA’s 2019 conference tournament run ended with an 88-83 overtime loss to top-seeded Oregon.
Onyenwere is one of only three Bruins that have played in multiple Pac-12 tournaments, with the others being redshirt senior guard Japreece Dean and junior forward Lauryn Miller. Both Onyenwere and Dean were recently named to the All-Pac-12 Team.
Of the 14 players on the Bruin roster, eight have never played in the Pac-12 tournament, including freshman guard Charisma Osborne, who was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team.
This week at practice, the Bruins used the help of former Bruin and current WNBA guard Jordin Canada, who played in four Pac-12 tournaments in her time with UCLA – including a run to the title game in 2016. Canada practiced with the Bruins on Wednesday.
“It’s nice, (Canada) challenges us definitely,” Osborne said. “(Canada) motivates me and the rest of my teammates – she’s always coming back and spilling knowledge and just tries to motivate our team.”
UCLA has played its crosstown rival USC twice this year. The Bruins won the first matchup against the Trojans 83-59 Dec. 29 and lost the next one 70-68 in double overtime Jan. 17, a loss that snapped the Bruins’ season-opening 16-game winning streak.
Beyond USC, the Bruins’ future opponents are unknown.
The other three teams UCLA has lost to this season – No. 3 Oregon, No. 13 Arizona and Washington – are all on the opposite side of the bracket.
Because of this uncertainty, Osborne said postseason play differs from the regular season in terms of preparation.
“It’s different because you don’t know exactly who you’re gonna be guarding,” Osborne said. “It’s not too different because you’re still trying to focus on what you’re doing, like just playing regular defense and things like that.”
According to Close, the Bruins’ season is like a series of ladders, with each ladder being their next challenge. The ladder they are on now is one that represents the Pac-12 tournament, and Close said she wants her team to climb that ladder one rung at a time.
“Right now, (we’re on) the Pac-12 championship ladder, and you just focus on that next rung,” Close said. “I really only want (the players) to prepare on the rung that they are on that ladder.”
UCLA’s next “rung” will be its quarterfinal matchup against USC will tip off at 6 p.m. Friday.
