Leadership down the stretch lifts UCLA women’s basketball over Washington

This post was updated Feb. 27 at 6:50 p.m.

“All I care about is a kill right here,” said coach Cori Close from the sidelines.  

With 3:37 left to play in the third quarter, Close implored the Bruins to notch three straight stops – a kill – against the Huskies.

Instead, Washington made a 3-pointer on the other end to pull within six and immediately forced a UCLA turnover. 

Then the Bruins made a steal of their own, followed by another Washington steal, then another UCLA steal. 

The drama wasn’t limited to the third quarter, however. The two teams traded steals, baskets and fouls the entire afternoon, but a fourth quarter explosion from veteran Charisma Osborne – on her senior night – ultimately caged the Huskies in the kennel. 

No. 17 UCLA women’s basketball (22-8, 11-7 Pac-12) capped off its regular-season campaign with a down-to-the-wire 70-62 decision against Washington (15-13, 7-11) on Saturday. Having lost five of its last nine games, the blue and gold finally proved it can close out a contest with the help of 11 fourth-quarter points courtesy of Osborne.

“I just had so much fun playing today,” Osborne said. “We talked about it yesterday, just playing free and having confidence in ourselves and each other. I think that’s what made it so fun.” 

The Bruins shook up the starting lineup to feature all four graduating student-athletes in the spotlight on senior night. 

Senior forward Brynn Masikewich – who had never started in a game as a Bruin – in addition to senior guards Camryn Brown and Osborne and graduate student guard Gina Conti all assumed starting positions following their Senior Day ceremony. Fittingly, three of the four graduating athletes scored the first four baskets of the contest. 

Conti put the Bruins on the board first with a pull-up jumper, Masikewich posted up in the paint for two points, and Brown found the bottom of the net in the first three minutes – good enough to match the blue and gold’s point total of the entire first quarter against Washington State on Thursday night. 

On the other end of the ball, UCLA locked in, forcing four turnovers in the first four minutes and  limiting Washington to 5-of-12 in the first frame. The Bruins were 53% from the field, a marked difference from their season-low 29% on Thursday. 

Four straight buckets from freshmen including forward Gabriela Jaquez, guard Londynn Jones and forward Christeen Iwuala extended the Bruins’ lead to seven, but a subsequent 7-0 run from their opponent over the final 1:49 of the period kept the Huskies within striking distance. 

Osborne – still scoreless – grabbed the first rebound of the second quarter, earning UCLA the next possession in which Jaquez got a look to go from inside the paint. But the blue and gold would go cold for the next three minutes while the Huskies emerged on another 7-0 run, highlighted by a third-chance make from deep after two consecutive offensive boards. 

For the next 4 ½ minutes of the game, the two squads traded one- and two-point leads, each team scoring on nearly every possession. Freshman guard Kiki Rice interrupted Washington’s 7-0 run with her own dagger from deep and notched two more layups to match the Huskies’ two makes in the paint. UCLA pulled ahead with a 3-pointer courtesy of Jones, but Washington immediately responded with a 3-pointer of its own. 

Osborne then logged her first basket of the game, a make from beyond the arc to push the Bruins’ lead to 33-31. But the Huskies refused to back down, responding with a 3-pointer of their own to head into the locker room with a 33-34 advantage.

Close said her team displayed immense mental toughness in the aftermath of the upset bid to Washington State on Thursday evening. 

“We were really disappointed on Thursday night,” Close said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the response and the emotional work that’s been done over the last 48 hours.”

Freshman forward Lina Sontag – the only non-veteran to get the starting nod – made the first three plays of the second half, converting off her own steal then deflecting the ball and collecting the rebound on the next two possessions, respectively. Washington made a layup in transition, sandwiched in between a 3-pointer from Conti and another from Osborne. 

The Bruins pushed the lead to nine, but the Huskies responded to each possession. The tide appeared to be turning when Osborne collected a pull-up jumper to go with the shot clock winding down, then Rice managed the steal on the other end and earned two free throws. But Washington immediately answered with back-to-back steals, and neither squad could claim the momentum heading into the final frame.

For a team that has struggled to emerge with the final advantage in tight, one-possession games throughout this season, Close said her squad was prepared to respond to Washington’s efforts late in the game. 

“When they made a run, I thought they got back to neutral really quickly,” Close said. “They knew exactly what they needed to do.” 

The Huskies cut the deficit to four in the fourth quarter courtesy of a 7-0 run within 40 seconds. But Osborne responded with buckets on back-to-back possessions. The veteran’s pull-up jumper then 3-pointer pushed the Bruins’ lead to nine. When Washington made two free throws on the other end, Osborne responded yet again with a jumper and her 17th point of the night. 

With two minutes to play, Jones pulled up from the top of the key and sank the jumper.  The Bruins assumed their largest lead of the game, which Osborne pushed to 13 with another basket. Despite a make from deep in transition and some chances from the charity stripe for the Huskies, the Bruins wouldn’t relinquish the advantage for the rest of the contest. 

Osborne led all scorers in the Bruins’ last game of the regular season.

Rice said enduring the grind of the back-and-forth affair was a precursor to the competition to come in the postseason.

“That fight and grind for most of us is what it’s going to feel like going forward for the Pac-12 tournament, and we really have to get used to those types of games,” Rice said. “We’re starting to put things together and I think our ability to continue to do that will really serve us well down the stretch.”