Story by
Surging UCLA women’s basketball feels like team of destiny
- Story by
- Surging UCLA women’s basketball feels like team of destiny
UCLA players including Lauren Betts celebrate Big Ten Tournament title
INDIANAPOLIS — They broke out a spontaneous dance routine on a confetti-strewn stage, a trio of UCLA women's basketball stars busting some celebratory moves.
Consider it a warmup for the Big Dance.
Advertisement
If the Bruins can replicate the joy and dominance they flashed across three days here — not to mention an unbeaten run through the Big Ten's regular season — then anyone who stands in their way in the NCAA Tournament might want to step aside.
Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens celebrate during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Getty Images
This has the feel of a team on the verge of a historic run.
What other way is there to describe the Bruin buzzsaw of the last four months?
Top-seeded UCLA's 96-45 rout of second-seeded Iowa on Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse represented the most lopsided title game in conference history. It also gave the Bruins a second straight conference tournament title and three victories in as many days by a combined 79 points.
Advertisement
"I'm not really surprised because of the amount of work we've done in practice," UCLA center Lauren Betts said. "We've been competing against ourselves all season and just constantly trying to get better every single day. When you have moments like these, you just feel really prepared for it."
The Bruins (31-1) are on an extended joyride, winning a program-record 25 consecutive games, last losing to Texas in late November.
What should strike even more fear into anyone who might face this team in the coming weeks? Coach Cori Close said her players are capable of reaching another level than they did Sunday, noting they had zero offensive rebounds at halftime.
"I think my biggest responsibility as the leader of this program," Close said, "is to hold the standard."
Advertisement
UCLA's beatdown of the Hawkeyes sparked an extended celebration. The Bruins ran over to their band soon after the final buzzer, rhythmically thrusting their arms into the air while serenaded by the celebratory song "Rover," smiles all around.
As point guard Kiki Rice held the championship trophy, having been named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, she joined teammates in a chant of "Back to back!"
The festivities took a serendipitous turn thanks to the in-arena DJ.
When Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Charlisse Leger-Walker noticed that Tate McRae's "Just Keep Watching" — the same song they had performed to at a recent UCLA men's basketball game — was playing here, they reprised their routine to the delight of fans and teammates.
Advertisement
"Gabs looked at me," Betts said, "and she was like, 'They're playing our music,' and we just went for it."
Rice kept the party going when she brought a Bluetooth speaker blaring music to the postgame interview room. As Close spoke with reporters, she had the championship net draped over her neck.
Sienna and Lauren Betts pose for a photo with the trophy following the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Championship against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Getty Images
Let the lobbying for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament begin, even if Close or her players won't participate.
The Bruins have a compelling case that it should belong to them.
Though they entered the day second in the NET rankings behind top-ranked UConn (33-0), they have 18 Quad 1 wins — more than twice as many as the Huskies' eight.
Advertisement
Want more? UCLA posted wins over 12 ranked teams this season and went undefeated in a Big Ten Conference that entered the week with seven ranked teams. UConn has beaten five ranked teams and plays in the far weaker Big East Conference, which has only one ranked team: the Huskies.
What's the case for UConn? Well, the defending national champions are the nation's only unbeaten team.
"I think our focus needs to be on the how," Close said when asked about the seeding debate. "How do we play our best basketball in March? How do we learn from the previous year? How do we continue to fight to get one possession better every single day? If I give energy to that, I'm not giving energy to something more important."
Even if the Bruins lose out on the top overall seed, they'll have a favorable route to winning the program's first NCAA championship after capturing an AIWA title in 1978.
Advertisement
If all goes as planned, that journey will take them from Pauley Pavilion to Sacramento's Golden 1 Center to Phoenix's Mortgage Matchup Center for the Final Four.
Who's going to bet against them? This is a team that hasn't strayed from its intended path, making all the right moves.
