As usual, UCLA assistant coach Tasha Brown ticked off each player's nickname as they got off the team bus Sunday.
Only she offered an addendum for the point guard known as Charlisse X-Ray Vision Leger-Walker.
"We need you to score, too," Brown told the player universally recognized for her unselfishness.
UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker is greeted by teammates after scoring during the second half. AP
Sure thing.
With an array of crafty moves, Leger-Walker was happy to comply during the second-ranked Bruins ' 73-50 romp over USC at the Galen Center.
Leger-Walker's 20 points led both teams and showed how her relatively quiet addition as a second facilitator alongside Kiki Rice could elevate the Bruins as they seek their first NCAA championship.
"We've been really trying to get Charlisse to think about not only her ability to get everybody involved and have our teamwork be in sync," UCLA coach Cori Close said, "but for her to just make the right basketball play and to be aggressive for her own shot as well … I think she's getting into a good rhythm for that."
Leger-Walker's scoring output tied her season high and further revealed the depth of a team that had four players in double-figure scoring against the Trojans.
"Because we have so many talented pieces," Leger-Walker said, "it can be anyone's night any game and happened to be, you know, I scored a lot tonight."
Her scoring was especially critical late in the third quarter. With USC clinging to comeback hopes, Leger-Walker got the bounce on a jumper. Then she followed her own steal with a 3-pointer.
The Bruins were back up by 21 points. Ballgame.
Leger-Walker said she was balancing the need to facilitate while also making the right reads.
"They like to be really aggressive defensively and were taking away some different options," said Leger-Walker, who made 8 of 13 shots and 4 of 7 3-pointers. "And so, I guess it's just stepping up into that role and taking the shots that were there for me and being more aggressive in just understanding how they were playing me and our team."
Charlisse Leger-Walker celebrates a play against USC Trojans. Getty Images
A graduate transfer from Washington State, Leger-Walker sat out all of last season after suffering a devastating knee injury at Pauley Pavilion toward the end of her final season as a Cougar. She spent much of her time while rehabilitating learning her teammates and their tendencies.
"It really allowed me to understand not only just our team dynamic and watching just the players out there, but also understanding from a coaching perspective, different reads that we're trying to look for, how are we trying to attack different things?" Leger-Walker said. "And being on the sideline and kind of being in people's ear all the time, it almost put me in a coaching position."
As part of her all-around game, Leger-Walker has led the team with 5.6 assists per game to go with nine points and 4.2 rebounds. Her addition alongside sharpshooter Gianna Kneepkens has given the Bruins one of the most well-rounded lineups in college basketball.
Close has another nickname for the native of New Zealand: The Connector.
"What she has done to make everybody around her better, and to be a connector of not only on the court of knowing who needs to get touches, or who needs to have a different rotation or a help side," Close said, "she's talking constantly, but also off the court, she keeps our team really tight."
Close said Leger-Walker has become so well liked among teammates that she's the player they go to when they're having a bad day. Of course, with Leger-Walker's help, there have been few of those for a team that has now won 22 games in a row and went unbeaten in Big Ten play during the regular season.
With Leger-Walker leading the way, the Bruins beat their rival for a third consecutive time on a day that star center Lauren Betts was held to five points while making only 2 of 10 shots.
"Offensively, people scouting us know that we have all five players on the court at any one time who can score the ball, and I really think it is just making the best decisions out there, how we play that, and a lot of that comes down to just the IQ of this team," Leger-Walker said. "You know, who has a hot hand, how are they playing Lauren in the post? A lot of that is schemed around that. So I think moving forward into March, it is just honing in on that and understanding what decisions we need to make out there."
Whether scoring or passing, Leger-Walker has the full trust of her team to make the right read.
