The UCLA women’s basketball team went into the locker room at halftime of Monday’s contest with a 21-point lead over visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but coach Cori Close was far from pleased with her team’s performance. The Bruins had looked sloppy with seven first-half turnovers and an offense that looked out of sync without its best player.
Close needed to see more from the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, and she let them know it in the locker room at halftime.
After the game, Close recalled what she told her players: “Look, we need to become more disciplined now. And if you don’t, you’re going to either have the pain and discomfort of what it takes to become disciplined, or you’re going to choose the pain and discomfort that comes with regret. That’s the choice before us right now.”
The Bruins wasted no time responding.
While the outmatched Mustangs hung around for most of the first half, any hope of a comeback was wiped out once UCLA guard Londynn Jones hit a fastbreak three to give UCLA a 31-point lead within the first minute of the fourth quarter en route to a dominant 69-37 victory.
Close’s halftime reaction might have seemed a bit unnecessary since the Bruins were firmly in control of the game at halftime, but the veteran coach is trying to prepare her team for what lies ahead. The mistakes they get away with against teams such as Cal Poly and Tennessee Martin they won’t get away with against squads such as Michigan and Ohio State.
Close wants to make sure the Bruins are ready to compete and win against Creighton, Nebraska, Michigan and Indiana — their next four opponents.
“We’re going to learn a lot about ourselves because there’s no margin,” Close said of the looming Big Ten schedule. “We’re going to have to go to another level for this next four-game stand. … All four of those teams are real quality opponents. It’s going to bring and refine new things in us, or we’ll lose.”
UCLA (11-0) was without its best player — junior center Lauren Betts was held out with a minor lower body injury — and her absence was felt early. The Bruins shot an abysmal 12.5% from the field in the second quarter as Cal Poly (4-6) cut the Bruins’ lead to nine points.
But the Bruins’ depth helped them overcome the absence of Betts, who is averaging a double-double and is the Big Ten’s third-leading scorer. Janiah Barker finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, Timea Gardiner had 11 points and six rebounds and Jones and Angela Dugalić each finished with 12 points.
“We always want Lauren to be able to play, she’s a dominant player,” Close said. “But I have so much confidence in everybody else on our roster. I expect elite skill, teamwork and discipline whether we have Lauren or not. I think our team is so deep, so versatile, and I believe so much in who they are and the skill sets that they bring.”
The road will get tougher for the Bruins. But a tough road is exactly what the Bruins signed up for, and if you ask the players, it’s exactly what they want.
UCLA players have made a habit out of staying after practice for individual work. Close remembers Barker, who had transferred from Texas A&M, looking surprised after one early season practice and asking, “Is it like this every day?”
“I think we all have the same goal of wanting to win a championship, and it takes whatever it takes to do that,” Barker said of the Bruins’ team culture. “I think we’ve learned that we want it, we just have to continue to be disciplined, and continue to listen to the coaches, and trust the process knowing that’s not going to be easy, and continue to be our best selves.”
“It’s going to be fun for us to play some tournament games,” Dugalić said. “These are all NCAA tournament teams. … We invite this. We’re being hunted, but we’re still hunting. We want them to bring their best toward us because at the end of the day, we’re all getting better.”
