Gina Conti plans return as other women’s basketball veterans prepare to leave UCLA

The Bruins have a chance to extend their season with every postseason game.

For some members of the blue and gold, each victory simultaneously extends their collegiate careers.

Eight of the 15 players for UCLA women’s basketball (18-13, 8-8 Pac-12) are seniors or graduate students this year, meaning each triumph in the team’s ongoing Women’s National Invitation Tournament run prolongs the careers of its student-athletes who could potentially leave UCLA after this season.

Thus far in the postseason, a few of those eight veterans have stepped up on the court to delay their potential goodbyes to collegiate basketball in Westwood.

In the first round of the WNIT, graduate student guard Natalie Chou led all scorers with 19 points – her highest total since Dec. 5 – to help the Bruins earn a victory over UC Irvine.

Junior guard Charisma Osborne – who has played with Chou for the past three seasons – said she is enjoying their final moments as teammates, both on and off the court.

“It’s been super fun playing with her (Chou),” Osborne said. “I’m always joking with Nat, ‘We only have two more days together. I’m so excited.’”

Following Chou’s scoring outburst, graduate student forward IImar’I Thomas scored a game-high 17 points while redshirt senior guard Chantel Horvat grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to help UCLA defeat Air Force in the second round.

Horvat, who has played in more than 100 games across her five-year career as a Bruin, said she is focused on playing hard in her final days donning the blue and gold.

“I definitely think about it because it is nearing the end,” Horvat said. “It just makes it even more important that I do leave it all out there on the floor because I don’t know if it will be my last time wearing the UCLA uniform.”

Horvat and the other veteran Bruins nearly saw their careers end Thursday after the team needed game-tying scores in the final 90 seconds of regulation and each of the first two overtimes to earn a triple-overtime win against Wyoming in the third round of the WNIT. Chou and Thomas scored the game-tying baskets in regulation and the first overtime, respectively.

“The whole team knows … (we’re) playing for them,” Osborne said. “All of us knew that we didn’t want this to be their last game in Wyoming. We wanted to be able to continue on.”

Despite several players appearing to be minutes away from their career’s end in those final moments, Thomas said the team’s experience is what allowed it to stay calm and extend its season.

“We just kept our composure,” Thomas said. “We’ve all been in this position before as a veteran team.”

Gina Conti’s Delayed Debut

While many of the team’s seniors and graduate students are fighting to keep their careers alive, one graduate student announced she’ll be back in Westwood for another season.

Guard Gina Conti – who transferred to UCLA last offseason after four years at Wake Forest – announced Wednesday that she’ll remain on the roster next season after a foot injury forced her to miss what was supposed to be her last collegiate season in 2021-2022.

Conti, who has yet to make her Bruin debut, is eligible to play her sixth collegiate season in 2022-2023 after receiving the universal COVID-19 redshirt season and exercising her medical redshirt season this year because of her injury.

“I’m excited to be taking my redshirt year and coming back next season,” Conti tweeted Wednesday. “I look forward to being on the court representing UCLA alongside my teammates for one more year!”

A four-year starter for the Demon Deacons, Conti ranks in the top three all-time on the program’s assist leaderboard with more than 490 assists in her career. She’ll be joined by Osborne, redshirt freshman guard Dominique Onu and incoming freshmen guards Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones, among others, in the UCLA backcourt next season.