Arizona women’s basketball faces a major test on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion as they take on a heavily restructured No. 10 UCLA Bruins team. The Wildcats, with a strengthened roster this season, travel to Los Angeles to play at 8:30 p.m. MST in a matchup broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
UCLA has lost six of the 11 players who appeared in games for last season’s national championship team, including their top six scorers and rebounders. Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalić, and Gabriela Jaquez all departed, taking with them 90 percent of the Bruins’ scoring, 78 percent of rebounds, 88 percent of steals, and 91 percent of assists from the previous campaign. The Bruins also lost 82 percent of their blocked shots, with the six players accounting for 140 of last year’s 170 blocks.
Head coach Cori Close has brought in reinforcements from the transfer portal: KK Bransford from Notre Dame, Addy Brown from Iowa State, and Donovyn Hunter, formerly of Oregon State and TCU. Despite their experience, this new lineup is younger and less cohesive than last year’s squad that went 37-1 and dominated the competition by an average of 27.4 points per game.
Arizona comes into the game 2-0 after a shaky fourth quarter against Iona, where they struggled to close out the game. The Wildcats have been forcing turnovers at a rate of 22.5 per game, ranking 70th in Division I, with 11 steals per game that fuel their fast-break opportunities. This defensive pressure will be key against UCLA, which has struggled with ball control early in the season.
The Bruins turned the ball over 18 times in a televised exhibition loss to Texas, which translated to 20 points for the Longhorns. Similar issues followed in their regular season games, with Lehigh forcing 15 turnovers and UC Irvine forcing 17. In both contests, at least one Bruin had five or more turnovers. Arizona’s ability to capitalize on these mistakes could be decisive.
UCLA’s shooting at the free-throw line has also been problematic. They made just 7 of 12 attempts against Lehigh and 10 of 15 against UC Irvine. The Wildcats will need to exploit every chance they get at the charity stripe.
Despite the roster overhaul, UCLA remains a strong team. Addy Brown was a significant contributor at Iowa State, arguably more so than star Audi Crooks over several seasons. The Bruins’ freshman class includes Somto Okafor, a highly regarded Spanish guard, while Sienna Betts, Timea Gardiner, Hunter, and Bransford bring solid experience and high school pedigree.
UCLA has yet to face an opponent of Arizona’s caliber this season. They opened with wins over Lehigh and UC Irvine and will remain at Pauley Pavilion until a Nov. 22 game against Tennessee. Their schedule includes a challenging stretch in mid-December with neutral-site games against Duke, South Carolina, and Texas.
Arizona’s head coach Becky Burke and her team have a chance to make a statement against a program that dominated last season but is still finding its footing with a new roster. The Wildcats face the challenge of maintaining intensity throughout the game, avoiding the lapses they showed in the fourth quarter against Iona.
Thursday’s game will be streamed on the FOX Sports app and broadcast on KTUC 1400 AM radio. UCLA also provides live stats for fans following the matchup.
According to Yahoo Sports.
