How No. 1 UCLA got its groove back

(News4usOnline) – There’s nothing like the fury of a head coach after an embarrassing defeat. The UCLA Bruins felt the wrath of head coach Cori Close after they found themselves on the losing end of a 80-67 score to crosstown USC in the final game of the regular season on March 1. 

“I’m just really pissed off. We didn’t show up and do our jobs,” Close said during the postgame press conference. “Credit to USC. They were tougher. They were tougher and more disciplined, and they did their jobs, and we weren’t as tough, and we didn’t do our jobs.”

To further illustrate her disdain for her team’s lackluster performance, Close grabbed the boxscore sheet that was laid out in front her on the postgame podium, crumpled it and tossed it back dismissively on the lectern.  

“It’s pretty much like this…Nothing to do with that,” Close said. “And we’re going to have to do some really hard looks in the mirror. It’s a very weird dichotomy, because on the one hand we have a team that’s lost two games all year and we have a lot to still play for and we have a lot to be proud of…and at the same time, I’m really angry. And we let each other down today.”

Not only did USC hand UCLA its only loss on its home floor all season, the Trojans embarrassed the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion with the blowout win to earn the Big Ten Conference title. It was the second time in two weeks that the Trojans had dropped an “L” on the Bruins, a team that had been ranked No. 1 for most of the college basketball season. 

The first time the two teams met, USC got the better of UCLA at Galen Center with a 70-61 win. At the time of absorbing that loss, UCLA was undefeated and held the top ranking in women’s college basketball. USC went on to prove that win was no fluke by smacking the Bruins in the mouth a second time. 

The Bruins did not hit back. The second time UCLA and USC played, the Trojans rallied behind JuJu Watkins’ 30 points and out toughed the Bruins with the double-digit defeat, thus setting the stage for Close’s ire to come full circle after the matchup had concluded. 

“We pretty much said, ‘Look, this is the way this train is going, and if you don’t think you can make changes to be on it, tell us now,’” Close said. “I want everybody that goes with us to Indiana to be going in the same direction. So, the way we turn it around is people make a commitment and a choice and they be counted on.” 

Round 3 between UCLA and USC would be different, much different. The second half in particular turned out to be the type of game Close had anticipated her Bruins playing. 

Despite the sloppiness of 24 turnovers, UCLA managed to snatch away a potential humiliating third loss to the Trojans and turned it into a gratifying 72-67 Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship win. 

“I just was praying this morning,” Close said after UCLA’s comeback win. “I was like I just want to see them be the best version of themselves for each other, and that’s what I got to see today is them just find a way, in unpredictable ways — I just told them in the locker room, if you had told me we were going to turn the ball over 24 times and get outrebounded by 11 and still win, I would have told you you’re crazy.”

“This group just said we’ll find a way. There was no panic. They had great poise, and they did it with defense. We had nine kills in the game, and that’s a huge thing. Kills are three stops in a row, and that was the difference in the game,” she added. 

The difference between the second time the Bruins faced the Trojans to this third matchup was defense. UCLA did a much better job of bottling up Watkins, forcing the USC star into missing 19 of the 28 field goals she attempted. 

As a team, the Bruins put the clamps on USC’s shooting from the field. The Trojans made just 24 of 70 shots taken from the field. But to earn this win, the Bruins had to dig deep. Watkins and the Trojans did what they wanted to do as they built a 45-35 lead. 

When the Trojans’ lead ballooned to 13 points early in the third quarter, it appeared that USC simply would do a number on UCLA a third time. The Bruins then outscored the Trojans 17-9 in the period to change the momentum swing of the game. 

The Bruins played gritty, tough physical ball in the second half, something that was lacking in the first two quarters, Close said.

“Well, we lost it the first two quarters, let’s be honest. It’s pretty evident. Every ball on the ground, they got to first. Every rebound got taken out of our hands. We didn’t win the toughness battle in those first two quarters,” Close remarked. 

“I really wondered what their eyes were going to look like when I went into the locker room at halftime, and they were poised and determined. They knew they had not played their best, and they didn’t do the things we needed to do, but they still believed they could turn it.”

Featured Image: UCLA guard Kiki Rice at the free throw line in a women’s college basketball game played at Pauley Pavilion on March 1, 2025. Photo credit: Carlos Jones/File Photo/News4usOnline