Women’s basketball prepares for 4-game road trip starting with Cougars, Huskies

The Bruins have a chance to pick up a pair of season sweeps this weekend.

Three weeks after a 2-point overtime victory over Washington State (8-6, 6-6 Pac-12) and an indefinitely postponed game against Washington (4-8, 1-8), No. 5 UCLA women’s basketball (10-2, 8-2) will begin a four-game road trip with matchups against the Cougars and Huskies on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Last time out, the Bruins extended their winning streak to five games with a 60-57 victory over Arizona State. Sophomore guard Charisma Osborne – who currently leads the Pac-12 in scoring with 19.3 points per game – scored a game-high 27 points, marking her fifth straight game with 20-plus points after reaching that plateau just once in the first seven games of the season.

“It’s fun to play with someone who can get hot as quick as (Osborne) – she’s a person who can get hot out of nowhere,” said redshirt junior guard Lindsey Corsaro. “I think it’s the motor that she has to affect plays all the time (during practice), and she does that so consistently that it translates to things in the game.”

Osborne also scored a game-high 28 points in UCLA’s 68-66 victory against then-No. 25 Washington State on Jan. 17. Guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, the Cougars’ leading scorer at 17.9 points per game, finished with 18 points. Leger-Walker – who averaged 20.3 points per game through her first 12 collegiate games – has been held to eight total points on 18% shooting in her last two games, both against No. 6 Stanford.

Coach Cori Close said she knows what the freshman is capable of despite the recent low-scoring efforts, and one of the keys to Friday’s game will be limiting Leger-Walker offensively.

“(Leger-Walker) earned our respect without question, but like any freshman, you have to sort of hit that wall and then go find a way around the wall,” Close said. “I have no doubt that she will respond really well. But we’re also going to have to learn from what Stanford did and make sure that we bring our A-game and make her do things that are uncomfortable as well.”

UCLA swept the season series last year against Washington State, with the matchup in Pullman coming down to the wire before the Bruins pulled out a 70-62 win. Osborne led the team with 32 points and helped close out the victory Feb. 21 to secure the season sweep.

A win this weekend would be the Bruins’ seventh straight against the Cougars, dating back to 2017.

“Pullman is a really challenging place to play,” Corsaro said. “They play really well at home, and they always have a certain level of confidence about them at home. (We’re) going to Pullman knowing that we have to take care of business from the jump because they’re the kind of team this year, that if you let them get hot early, it’s going to be a tough game.”

The Bruins will also get their first shot at this year’s version of the Huskies on Sunday after their matchup on Jan. 15 was postponed because of COVID-19 protocols. The season series was split last year, as UCLA was handed a 74-68 loss in its last matchup Feb. 23.

Washington is currently led in scoring by guard Tameiya Sadler – also a freshman – at 12.3 points per game. Close said it will be key for her team to limit turnovers from the start against an aggressive defense.

“Specifically against Washington, it’s so important that you handle their pressure well and that you do things as a team to create easier shots for each other,” Close said. “Then you can set your defense and do some good things, but it’s hard if they’re able to get you sped up and out of rhythm.”

Despite placing in the top five of the AP Top 25 Poll for the second straight week, redshirt senior guard Natalie Chou reiterated that the team is not satisfied and is still focused on bigger goals, especially as the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments approach.

“As a team, we don’t really talk about the rankings because we know that in the Pac-12, each game is hard,” Chou said. “That’s enough energy and focus for us as a team, so we don’t talk about that, but we are proud of what we’ve done this season. But we know that we have a long way to go.”

Including this weekend, UCLA has just seven scheduled games before the Pac-12 tournament is set to begin, with six postponed games yet to be rescheduled. Close said she expects some to be made up, but is approaching each game with gratitude and excitement during this unusually short regular season.

Close said she is specifically excited that UCLA will at least make the 13-game benchmark needed to qualify for the upcoming national tournament.

“I’m just really glad that I think we’re going to get to our 13 mark – that’s the minimum to be able to qualify for the NCAA Tournament,” Close said. “So my focus is, ‘Are we playing our best come tournament time? Are we healthy come tournament time?’ That’s really it.”

UCLA tips off against Washington State at 12 p.m. on Friday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday against Washington.