Pro Bruin Rundown: Jordin Canada, Noelle Quinn clinch victory with Seattle Storm in WNBA Finals

Jordin Canada and Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm, WNBA

Jordin Canada helped the Seattle Storm capture their third WNBA title with a 92-59 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday. The 3-0 series sweep marked the Storm’s second WNBA championship in three seasons and capped the team’s undefeated playoff run.

Canada scored 15 points off the bench for the Storm in Game 3 while tacking on five rebounds and three assists. All three were series highs for the UCLA alum, who donned the blue and gold from 2014-18 and is the program’s all-time leading assister.

The point guard’s 15-point outburst led all reserve players and helped Canada to her second WNBA title.

The 2014-15 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Canada averaged 7.9 points per game in her third WNBA season while shooting 42.4% from the field. Canada also averaged a career high 5.5 assists per game for the Storm this year.

Noelle Quinn, one of the associate head coaches for the Storm, won her first WNBA championship as a coach. Quinn played for Bruins from 2004-07 and was recently inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.

Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees, MLB

The Bruins’ former ace attempted to will his team to the American League Champion Series, but the New York Yankees fell in a Game 5 nail-biter.

Gerrit Cole, the first pick of the 2011 MLB draft, started two games for the Yankees in the five-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, racking up 17 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. While Cole registered a quality start in Game 1 of the series, giving up three runs in six innings, his most important start of the postseason came in Game 5.

Pitching on just three days rest, Cole tossed 5.1 one-hit innings, with the only blemish coming on a solo home run by Rays All-Star Austin Meadows. Ranked second in career strikeouts at UCLA, Cole punched out 9 Rays while walking two, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history with 9 or more strikeouts and one hit or fewer allowed in a winner-take-all postseason matchup.

With the loss, Cole’s first season in pinstripes comes to an end after he signed a 9-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in the offseason. It is the largest contract for any pitcher in MLB history.

Erik Holt, Real Salt Lake, MLS

Erik Holt registered his second consecutive start for Real Salt Lake in its 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday. The center back and former team captain for UCLA played all 90 minutes in back-to-back games for the first time in his MLS career.

Signed as a homegrown player out of UCLA, Holt has helped Salt Lake to one clean sheet in his 12 appearances over the past two seasons as the No. 11 RSL battles for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Patrick Cantlay, PGA Tour

Patrick Cantlay continued his strong play at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

Cantlay – a Bruin from 2010-12 and the 2012 McCormack Medal winner as the world’s top-ranked amateur player – struggled to get anything going early in the tournament, only to hole four straight birdies and move into a five-way tie for first after two rounds.

Cantlay’s first PGA Tour victory came at the Shriners in 2018, but he was unable to win it again after a 2-over 73 on Sunday. The UCLA alumnus was the tournament’s joint leader after three rounds but his Sunday performance left him in a tie for eighth, five strokes off the winner.

Ka’imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans, NFL

A former Bruin helped the Houston Texans to their first victory of the season.

Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, the first Bruin ever to score 100 points in four consecutive seasons for UCLA football, scored 12 of the Texans’ 30 points in their 30-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fairbairn connected on three field goals, including one at a distance of 46 yards.

The Pac-12’s third-place all-time leading scorer was perfect on the day, making all three of his extra point attempts as well. The 30 points marked a season high for Houston and gave Romeo Crennel a win in his first game as the Texans head coach.