The Bruins continue to make history.

After a record-breaking season – reaching its highest rank ever – No. 2 seed UCLA women’s basketball (25-6, 13-5 Pac-12) will face No. 15 seed California Baptist (28-3, 18-2 Western Athletic Conference) on Saturday in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded mark is the Bruins’ highest seed in program history.

“I definitely believe that we can make a deep run,” said coach Cori Close. “We have to be the aggressors. This week is really punching first and punching often.”

The Bruins will take on the Lancers in the first round of the Big Dance at home in Pauley Pavilion. The two teams have never met before, largely due to Cal Baptist’s recent transition from NCAA Division II to Division I.

“They have my respect, and we will not overlook anything,” Close said. “We are going to be focused towards our identity first and whatever it takes for this particular game to earn another one.”

The Albany 2 bracket includes No. 1 seed Iowa and the reigning national champions, No. 3 seed LSU. If the Bruins are to beat the Lancers in the first round, they will face the winner of No. 7 seed Creighton and No. 10 seed UNLV in the second round, also at home.

Pac-12 representative No. 5 seed Colorado rounds out the quartet of ranked teams in the Albany 2 side of the bracket – as the latest AP Poll ranked the Buffaloes at No. 18 – along with the Bruins, Hawkeyes and Tigers.

Both the Tigers and Hawkeyes ranked second in their respective conferences at the end of the regular season. LSU just fell to No. 1 seed South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference championship, taking home second place with a 79-72 loss. Iowa – UCLA’s future Big Ten opponent – won its conference tournament with an overtime victory over No. 6 seed Nebraska.

“We’re confident going into this next month that we can execute and beat all the other top teams in the country,” said sophomore guard Kiki Rice. “We’ve had a great week of practice and (are) feeling good about our preparation. We’re going to put together another great week, and we’re going to be ready to play in the first two weeks.”

Last season, UCLA fell to then-No. 1 seed South Carolina, missing out on an Elite Eight berth. While the Bruins held the Gamecocks to their second-lowest score all season, their 43 points weren’t enough to survive and advance.

This season, South Carolina is the only team that remains undefeated going into March Madness and have both a No. 1 seed in the tournament and a No. 1 rank in the NCAA.

This season, UCLA overcame seven ranked teams and reached the highest national ranking it has ever held. Close said the team’s success in big games helps them feel prepared for the upcoming win-or-go-home games.

“We had the number one most difficult nonconference schedule in the country. We have more top-25 wins going into the postseason play than anybody else – did a lot of those on the road,” Close said. “You earn that kind of confidence, and we’re going to take that with us for sure.”

Before UCLA can look ahead to a deep run, it will first need to get past the Western Athletic Conference champions. Cal Baptist will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, and is led by guard Chloe Webb, whose field goal percentage of 49.5% will stack-up against that of UCLA’s sophomore center Lauren Betts’ 65.3% – the third highest in the NCAA.

“I’m just focused on the team and what we can do to get into the national championship game,” said graduate student guard Charisma Osborne. “If anything, I want people to see that I lead the team really well.”