Women’s basketball to kick off conference schedule after COVID-19 cancellations

The Bruins are returning to the hardwood after a 29-day hiatus.

UCLA women’s basketball (5-3) will travel to Boulder to face Colorado (12-0, 1-0 Pac-12) on Sunday, marking its first matchup since losing to Connecticut on Dec. 11. After that, six of the Bruins’ scheduled games were either canceled or postponed because of COVID-19 protocols.

Two days after the cancellation of the team’s matchup against Texas Southern on Dec. 16, UCLA paused team-related activities because of COVID-19 developments. This led to the cancellation of its games against Ohio State and CSU Bakersfield, which were scheduled for Dec. 19 and 21, respectively.

Since then, four Pac-12 contests – against USC, Arizona State, Arizona and Utah – have also been postponed, though two of them were at least partially because of COVID-19 protocols within the opposing program. Sunday’s game will be UCLA’s first Pac-12 contest of the season and Colorado’s second after defeating USC on Friday.

Coach Cori Close revealed that the team had three starters enter COVID-19 protocols, a difference from the 2020-2021 season when the team had zero cases for the season’s entirety.

Redshirt senior guard Chantel Horvat said the Bruins have adopted lessons from last season to navigate the direct impact of the pandemic on the team this season.

“The first time around last year, it was very uncharted territory,” Horvat said. “We can learn from what happened last year and apply it to what happened this year and learn from what we experienced over that holiday break.”

While court action may have slowed, preparation did not. Close said she has continued to watch film on the undefeated Buffaloes, identifying their depth and experience as key points of emphasis.

“They’re deeper than they’ve ever been, they’re more athletic than they’ve ever been (and) more experienced than they’ve ever been,” Close said. “I’m excited about what that’s going to force us to do.”

Junior guard Charisma Osborne added that altitude training is key to the Bruins’ ability to contend in Colorado, especially with the Bruins coming off an extended layoff.

Boulder sits more than 5,300 feet above sea level, the highest elevation of any city among Pac-12 schools.

“Just playing in Colorado (with) the elevation and the altitude, it’s always just really tough to play in,” Osborne said. “We’ve been doing some things … to try to get ready for that but also getting back into game shape because we haven’t played in a while.”

There were a few silver linings of UCLA’s pause, according to Close, particularly with the chemistry the team has workshopped throughout the year after welcoming seven transfers prior to the start of the season.

Close said the time off allowed the Bruins’ two leading scorers – Osborne and graduate student forward IImar’I Thomas – to continue to grow their two-person game.

“Charisma and IImar’I have really had a lot of great opportunities with two-on-two actions,” Close said. “They’ve developed some great chemistry.”

The time off also allowed UCLA’s injured players to rest up, with Horvat saying the Bruins could be playing with a bolstered roster in their first true road contest of the season. However, it is not known who could be making their return against the Buffaloes.

Graduate student guard Gina Conti and redshirt freshman forward Angela Dugalic both sustained injuries toward the beginning of the season and have yet to make their debuts in the blue and gold.

“Colorado is a great team – they’re looking really good this season, and it’s our first game back,” Horvat said. “We’ve had a lot of people coming back from injuries and COVID, so it’s just such a great opportunity to get back on the floor together.”

Sunday’s game marks the first matchup between UCLA and Colorado since February 2020, when the Bruins won their 10th straight game in their all-time series against the Buffaloes. Both contests last season were postponed after UCLA’s roster dipped below the Pac-12 minimum of seven healthy scholarship players.

UCLA and Colorado will tip off at 10 a.m. in Boulder.