UCLA women’s basketball welcomes 2 guards back after season-long hiatus
Redshirt senior guard Kayla Owens (left) attempts a layup and senior guard Kiara Jefferson (right) attempts a jumper. The pair will be making their return from a one-season hiatus after opting out of last season. (Daily Bruin file photos)
By Lauryn Olina Wang
Nov. 10, 2021 3:59 p.m.
This post was updated Nov. 11 at 3:25 a.m.
Two familiar faces will return to the court for the Bruins this season.
Redshirt senior guard Kayla Owens and senior guard Kiara Jefferson will make their first appearance for No. 20 UCLA women’s basketball in more than a year and a half during the Bruins’ season opener Wednesday evening. Both Owens and Jefferson opted out of the 2020-2021 season because of health and safety concerns.
Both players navigated varying COVID-19 restrictions in their hometowns while training away from the team. Owens – who is from Houston, Texas – said she encountered limited restrictions, whereas Jefferson said she adapted to the fluid protocols in Sacramento, California.
While away from the team, Owens said she was able to train with minimal interaction with others.
“At first, I did weights, which was outside,” Owens said. “Then I worked out with my coach one-on-one most of the time, … I did work out twice a day, every day.”
Jefferson said she was living with her grandparents in Sacramento while beginning rehab and adjusting to changing regulations in the state.
“California was a lot more strict,” Jefferson said. “I live with my grandparents, so I was very cautious about going out and doing things. But once I felt comfortable enough, I went to rehab and eventually found a gym that exercised safety protocols.”
The senior said being away from Westwood all of last season gave her some new perspective as a member of her team.
“(I was) just maturing and understanding my role and what I’m here to do,” Jefferson said. “Both of those really helped me find my voice this year.”
The two guards said they honed different areas of their game while away from Westwood, though it wasn’t entirely by choice. Jefferson said because local officials discouraged gathering in parks and took down the hoops, it was difficult to get shots up. She said she instead turned her focus to weightlifting and improving her ballhandling skills.
Owens, on the other hand, prioritized fine-tuning her defense – which she said has always been a part of her identity – while working with a strength and conditioning coach in Texas.
The redshirt senior’s yearlong work to improve her defense has already caught the eye of coach Cori Close, who said in a media session Monday that Owens will be an important part of UCLA’s defensive makeup this season.
“This is one of the best perimeter defense teams I’ve ever coached,” Close said. “The combination of (graduate transfer guard) Jaelynn Penn, (junior guard) Charisma Osborne and Kayla Owens – those three have definitely separated themselves as elite defenders.”
When asked about her goals for this season, the redshirt senior had one thing on her mind.
“Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year,” Owens said.
