Women’s basketball notches win over California ahead of game against No. 1 Stanford

With a starter missing the game because of an injury, Natalie Chou stepped up with her best scoring performance of the season.

Starting the game in place of the injured redshirt junior guard Chantel Horvat, the redshirt senior guard scored a season-high 18 points as No. 11 UCLA women’s basketball (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) defeated winless California (0-6, 0-3) 71-37 in the team’s first conference game at Pauley Pavilion.

The opportunity to start came after Horvat replaced Chou in the starting lineup the previous two games because of a coach’s decision.

Chou said it was nice being back and able to compete with her teammates from the game’s opening tip.

“(Coach Cori Close) always says not to put too much value into who starts,” Chou said. “But it was good to be out there with my girls from the start and fighting with them.”

Her 18 points tied for the game-high with senior forward Michaela Onyenwere, who had 18 points of her own on 7-of-16 shooting.

Chou shot 7-of-13 from the field and was the only player on the floor to make more than two 3-pointers. She connected on her first three 3-point attempts and ultimately finished the game 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. She also had four steals and a game-high 36 plus-minus.

Close said the time out of the starting lineup allowed Chou to focus more on her all-around game and let her shooting follow.

“The reality for her is that the more she puts less pressure on her shot, the better she plays and the better she shoots,” Close said. “Coming off the bench has been really good in terms of her taking a deep breath and being able to see, ‘Okay, what does the team need from me? What’s the flow of the game?’ You can just see the rhythm of her shot is more relaxed.”

During her first three games in the starting lineup, Chou shot 28% from the field and 18% from three. In her next three games – the first two off the bench then the start Saturday – Chou shot 47% from the field and 48% from three.

Chou wasn’t the only player with a season high. Freshman forward Emily Bessoir played a career-high 26 minutes and scored in double-digits for the second time this season. She had 13 points and added six rebounds and three assists.

Playing in her sixth collegiate game, Bessoir said playing at home helps limit the nerves that come with a debut season.

“Definitely every game for me so far, I’m kind of a little more nervous than I’m used to,” Bessoir said. “Being at home here in Pauley, it actually made me a little less nervous just because I know the environment, I know the gym, we have our game day routine.”

Bessior had four of the team’s 20 steals – the most since at least the 2015-2016 season – as the Bruin defense limited the Golden Bears to 37 points while forcing 30 turnovers. All seven UCLA players recorded a steal, with five Bruins having at least three steals each.

Close said she does not know if the injured Horvat will be available for UCLA’s matchup against No. 1 Stanford on Monday in Pauley Pavilion. If Horvat can’t go, the Bruins will have just seven players again.

Close said the lack of available players is another obstacle in what has been a challenging year thus far.

“I used to say I needed to bring struggle and joy to every day because I think that’s when people grow at the fastest rates,” Close said. “But I really don’t have to worry about struggle – it’s already been built into 2020. It’s sort of par for the course right now, unfortunately.”

Despite the roster issues, the Bruins have won four games in a row, including three straight conference wins.