After challenging stretch, UCLA women’s basketball anticipates lighter road ahead

Three years ago, the Bruins played five ranked conference opponents in a six-game stretch, including three straight on the road.

Since then, UCLA hadn’t faced a portion of the regular season anywhere near as difficult for years. However, the blue and gold recently had a challenging stretch and is just one game removed from its first three-game losing streak in a year.

Coach Cori Close said her team acknowledges the magnitude of the schedule it has faced.

“I just try to keep it in proper emotional context,” Close said. “We were three possessions away from being 21-3. The reality is that we got through the hardest part.”

Luckily for the Bruins, the schedule looks more favorable in the upcoming final stretch of the regular season.

With a first-round bye in the conference tournament on the line, No. 18 UCLA women’s basketball (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12) will begin its final six games of the Pac-12 regular season with a homestand against Oregon State (11-12, 3-9) and Oregon (14-9, 5-7) Friday and Sunday, respectively. Outside of an upcoming matchup against No. 6 Stanford on Feb. 20, none of the Bruins’ other five remaining opponents have winning records in conference play, and all are unranked.

The anticipated lighter schedule is far different from what the blue and gold competed against in the past few weeks.

UCLA played four consecutive Pac-12 games on the road for the first time since the aforementioned gauntlet during the 2019-2020 season, commencing the run with two single-digit victories at the Washington schools.

But then came the three-game string of defeats.

The blue and gold lost back-to-back road matchups against then-No. 25 Colorado and then-No. 9 Utah before returning to Pauley Pavilion and blowing an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against then-No. 22 Arizona. Both the back-to-back ranked games away from home and the three-game run of top-25 battles were the first instances of such a difficult stretch since 2020.

The Bruins have continued to give all five of their freshmen significant minutes despite the challenging matchups. Close said the final stretch of the regular season for first-year players is all about managing the added intensity of the moment.

“There’s a different level of pressure,” Close said. “The next thing for our freshmen is two things: How do you execute under great pressure and really good scouting? … And how do you learn the attention to detail it takes to make winning plays in one-possession games?”

Last Sunday, the blue and gold didn’t have to worry about handling a one-possession game.

UCLA finally got to play an unranked opponent at home for the first time since an 87-70 win against Cal on Jan. 15, and the blue and gold took advantage of the friendlier matchup against Arizona State, finishing with an 82-63 blowout victory.

Despite the easier win Sunday, freshman guard Londynn Jones – who scored 20 points in her last two contests – said Close has used recent practices to keep the pressure on her and test the flourishing guard.

“Every player wants a coach that pushes you to the limits, and it gets tiring at times,” Jones said. “Of course it gets irritating, but you’re going to appreciate it in the long run.”

While the Bruins’ upcoming opponents aren’t winless in conference play like the Sun Devils, the Beavers and Ducks are a combined 8-16 against Pac-12 schools heading into their journeys to Westwood.

The blue and gold has had mixed success against the Oregon schools this season.

UCLA defeated then-No. 17 Oregon by a score of 82-74 in Eugene on Dec. 30, but senior guard Charisma Osborne was injured midway through the game. Without her presence, the blue and gold then lost to Oregon State two days later on Jan. 1, though the guard trio of graduate student Gina Conti, freshmen Kiki Rice and Jones combined for 56 points in the tight 77-72 loss in Corvallis.

Conti – whose 19 points in the loss were her most as a Bruin – said her scoring outburst was simply due to what the defense was giving her. The guard added that she is looking forward to avenging the loss this time around.

“It’s what the game is giving,” Conti said. “I can be an aggressive scorer to try to create things. (I) try to make the defense guard me to then create for my teammates. So that’s always my intention … get to the paint, and then make my best plays and decisions out of there.”

Recently, the Ducks have lost three games in a row and five of their last six, falling to eighth in the conference standings. Meanwhile, the Beavers have been slightly worse, as their four straight losses and six defeats in their last seven contests have them ranked 10th in the Pac-12.

But Close doesn’t care about either team’s recent form. To her, the losses just prove how good the conference is.

“Both Oregon and Oregon State are so much better than their records,” Close said. “The Pac-12 really is just that good. You have to be really dumb to judge Oregon or Oregon State by their record.”