At the Bruins’ first official practice of the season, the court was bustling with healthy bodies.

UCLA women’s basketball held its first practice with full-court runs, five-on-five play and a slew of returning, healthy players Monday at Mo Ostin Basketball Center. After practice, coach Cori Close said she was impressed by the blue and gold’s effort.

“For the most part, I’m just really pleased with the team spirit but also obviously the physical bodies too,” Close said. “I’m more excited about our mentality, our work ethic, our togetherness than even our talent.”

Freshman guard Kiki Rice, who arrived in Westwood in July to begin training, said the Bruins have focused on building foundations through skill work for the past eight weeks in summer practice.

“Over the summer, there was a big emphasis on skill work. We didn’t spend a ton of time at all on putting in plays,” Rice said. “We did a lot of three-on-three, one-on-ones, kind of laying the foundation and a lot of our skill sets.”

Plenty of new faces flooded the court Monday, with the returns of graduate student guard Gina Conti and redshirt sophomore forward Emily Bessoir from injury in addition to the Bruins’ top-ranked freshman class featuring freshman guards Londynn Jones and Rice.

Close said with the influx of talented guards, the blue and gold has multiple options at the point guard position, a noted difference from last year when now-senior guard Charisma Osborne assumed the role.

“I think we’re going to run multiple point guards,” Close said. “And right now, by Charisma’s desire, I do not run her at the one at all. She’s actually our fourth point guard right now.”

Close added that the new talent will be essential this season after a slew of injuries and absences affected the team last season.

“This is not an optional deal,” said Close. “We need them (the freshmen) to show up big and show up early on.”

With official practices starting, the team is working on building chemistry with its new pieces as well as getting the freshman players adjusted to the pace and competitiveness of collegiate basketball.

“When you step on the college floor, there’s a period of adjustment,” Rice said. “Here, it’s just focusing on little details, and everyone’s faster, bigger, more athletic, so I’m just focused on what’s going to make me successful at this level.”

The blue and gold is set to face three potential top-15 schools in November, so Close said she wants UCLA to return to its fast-paced transition game seen in previous years but lacking last season.

“That’s in the past. We have got to learn from that and realize how good we’ve been,” Close said. “We’ve been top five in points per possession and transition, possessions per game and pace of play for many, many years.”

With over a month to go before the season opener, the Bruins will have plenty of time to re-establish those numbers.