<\/p>\n
Of course, Cori Close had her eyes on the adjustments that UCLA will have to make after their second game of the season, against UC Riverside Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Bruins got off to a slow start, scoring just 10 points in the first quarter, before picking up the pace in the next two frames to go on to a 64-43 rout. And though it was a solid win, the coach who guided her team to a WNIT title, four Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite 8 berth since 2015 needs to see more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the first half we didn\u2019t respond very well to adversity,\u201d Close said of the Highlanders\u2019 defense. \u201cWe didn\u2019t make the winning mental responses we needed to make to (counter) what was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the fact that UCLA is playing with a full roster for the first time since 2019-2020, that they are healthy, and that they boast the No. 1 recruiting class in the U.S. has created a lot of excitement for the team, and points to a path towards recapturing their elite, top 25 status.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong term, our size and ability to affect plays on both sides of the floor because of that size is going to be a really good thing for us,\u201d Close said.<\/p>\n
Sophomore forward Emily Bessoir, who has returned after missing last season with an ACL tear, had her second strong outing, scoring 16 points, which included going 2-5 from three. Senior guard Charisma Osborne, who has shouldered the team workload since her sophomore year, when the Bruin roster was down to eight, scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.<\/p>\n
All but one of the 11 who saw floor time scored, including freshman Gabriela Jaquez, who put up 9 points in her first career start. Two other members of the celebrated class \u2013 point guard Kiki Rice and forward Christeen Iwuala \u2013 had 5 points and 5 assists and 6 points and 3 rebounds, respectively.<\/p>\n
Osborne, who sustained a knee injury late last season, joked that she hadn\u2019t had as many teammates since she was a freshman herself. Close said having multiple weapons in the UCLA arsenal is good for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the course of the year\u2026..Charisma doesn\u2019t feel like she has to get 18 every game,\u201d Close said.<\/p>\n
But Osborne has played more minutes than any Bruin, including the only other senior, Camryn Brown, and as she goes, so does the team. Fortunately for all, the way Osborne rolls is always very fast \u2013 and that included picking up the pace against Riverside.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur (winning effort) started with Charisma, who steadied us in the third quarter, and set the tone on both ends of the floor,\u201d Close said. \u201cHaving Emily back is a huge lift, and I\u2019m pleased with how her work is paying off, and how she\u2019s shooting the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Osborne said the team is loaded with talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of us have taken it to heart to make sure our chemistry is good,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople not in leadership positions are following along and listening. We have a lot of great players that can make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bessoir called the freshmen \u201ccoachable sponges.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a really good squad that has a good chemistry on and off the court,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to figure out the puzzle pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the newcomers, much of their adjustment will also be in accumulating game experience, as their decision-making is still a work in progress. For returners that also include Gina Conti, who sat out 2021-2022 with injury, and Dominique Onu, who played limited minutes last year for the same reason, they are adjusting to the new-look roster, and roles that are now different.<\/p>\n
As with Osborne\u2019s rebounds and Bessoir\u2019s shooting ability against the Highlanders, so has the rest of the young UCLA squad demonstrated a lot of versatility. Close said she always tries to recruit multi-skilled athletes, as the game has changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe days of playing high to low post and powering it in are over,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be able to spread the court, move the ball and play all positions. Our system has to facilitate growth towards that end.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bruins next host Troy on Sunday at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charisma drives the ball past the defense and into the paint. Caren Nicdao, UCLA Athletics photo. Of course, Cori Close had her eyes on the adjustments that UCLA will have to make after their second game of the season, against UC Riverside Thursday. The Bruins got off to a slow start, scoring just 10 points […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Charisma drives the ball past the defense and into the paint. Caren Nicdao, UCLA Athletics photo. Of course, Cori Close had her eyes on the adjustments that UCLA will have to make after their second game of the season, against UC Riverside Thursday. The Bruins got off to a slow start, scoring just 10 points […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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