No. 3 UCLA Faces No. 1 Mississippi State in Elite Eight

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ninth-ranked and third-seeded UCLA (27-7, 14-4 Pac-12 Conference) faces fourth-ranked and top-seeded Mississippi State (35-1, 16-0 SEC) in the Elite Eight of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 25 at 4:37 p.m. PT/6:37 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN3 with Pam Ward (play-by-play), Gail Goestenkors (analyst) and Courtney Lyle (reporter) calling all of the exciting action. Dave Marcus (play-by-play) will be on the call for the Bruins' internet radio broadcast.

GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: #1 Mississippi State (35-1, 16-0 SEC)
Series: First meeting
Venue (Capacity): Sprint Center (18,972)
Date: Sunday, March 25, 2018
Tipoff Time: 4:37 p.m. PT/6:37 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN/ESPN3
Talent: Pam Ward (play-by-play), Gail Goestenkors (analyst), Courtney Lyle (reporter)
Internet Radio: UCLABruins.com
Talent: Dave Marcus (play-by-play)

SERIES HISTORY VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
This is the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bruins. But UCLA has faced 10 of the 15 teams from the Southeastern Conference, going 13-39 all-time against the SEC. The Bruins are 4-1 vs. Kentucky, 3-1 vs. Texas A&M, 2-3 vs. Georgia, 1-2 vs. South Carolina, 1-18 vs. Tennessee, 0-2 vs. Missouri, 0-2 vs. Auburn, 0-2 vs. Vanderbilt, 0-1 vs. Alabama and 0-1 vs. Arkansas,

UCLA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

UCLA is 18-14 (.563) all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
This is the Bruins' 15th NCAA Tournament appearance (22nd postseason appearance including AIAW Tournaments).
UCLA has won its last seven First Round games of the NCAA Tournament and its last three Second Round games.
UCLA won its only national title in 1978 (AIAW) with a 90-74 win over Maryland at UCLA.
UCLA reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2016 for the first time since 1999 and in 2017 made it back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances for the first time in school history (selected to field of 16 of the AIAW Division I Tournament in 1978 and 1979). The Bruins have now made it to the Sweet Sixteen for three consecutive years with the 86-64 win over Creighton.
UCLA's best finish in the NCAA Tournament is the Elite Eight in 1999 and now 2018.
UCLA Head Coach Cori Close is 8-3 (.727) all-time in the NCAA Tournament (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018).

CANADA ON FIRE
UCLA's senior point guard Jordin Canada has been on a tear as of late, scoring 20 or more points in seven of the last nine games with four double-doubles. Over that span, she has averaged 20.9 points, 8.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field (64-for-150), 37.2 percent from three-point range (16-for-43) and 81.5 percent from the free-throw line (44-for-54).

BILLINGS AND CANADA NAMED ALL-REGION
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced on March 22 the All-Region nominees for 2018 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America. The selection committee will select the 10-member WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America team from 52 All-Region candidates. UCLA seniors Jordin Canada and Monique Billings were each named to the NCAA Division I Region 5 All-Region Team.

CLOSE NAMED REGION 5 COACH OF THE YEAR
Cori Close was named the United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division I Region 5 Coach of the Year, as announced by the WBCA on Thursday, March 22. It is the second time in her career that Close has received the award (2016).

SENIORS SET GAMES PLAYED RECORD
Seniors Monique Billings and Kelli Hayes tied the UCLA career record in the win over Texas, playing in their 140th career game at UCLA (Kari Korver, 140, 2012-13, 2014-17). When the pair step out on the court for the Elite Eight game vs. No. 1 Mississippi State, they will set the record at 141 games.

CANADA MAKING HISTORY
UCLA's Jordin Canada became the first woman in Pac-12 history to score 1,800 points and dish out 700 assists (UCLA record) at Utah and Colorado (Jan. 12 & 14). She is in exclusive company in all of Pac-12 basketball as well, joining Gary Payton (2,172 points, 938 assists, Oregon State, 1987-90) on the men's side as the only two players to accomplish the feat in the history of the league. She currently ranks 13th all-time in the Pac-12 in career points (2,130) and needs 12 points for 12th (Ashley Walker, CAL, 2,142, 2006-09) and 21 for 11th (Jillian Alleyne, ORE, 2,151, 2013-16). She will finish second at UCLA, having just passed Maylana Martin (2,101, 1997-2000). Canada, the UCLA all-time assist leader, became the Pac-12's all-time leader at No. 8 Oregon (Feb. 19) with 13 assists (now has 826), surpassing Sonja Henning's 757 assists at Stanford from 1988-91. She also ranks second in Pac-12 history with 344 steals and needs 29 to take over first (Lisa Willis, UCLA, 372, 2003-06).

TOP BILLINGS
UCLA's Monique Billings became the third woman in UCLA history and the 14th in Pac-12 history to score 1,500 points and grab 1,000 rebounds in a career in the win over Stanford (Jan. 21). She now has 1,749 points to rank 10th at UCLA and 38th in the Pac-12. She needs two points to move into 9th at UCLA (Anita Ortega, 1,751, 1976-79) and 29 points to move into 37th in the Pac-12 (Jamie Weisner, OSU, 1,777, 2012-16). She also has 1,153 boards, which ranks second at UCLA and 11th in the Pac-12. She needs 15 to move into 10th (Tina Thompson, USC, 1,168, 1994-97). Billings, the UCLA all-time leader in blocks (227) just passed Oregon's Jenny Mowe (1997-01) for 6th all-time in Pac-12 history.

CANADA AMONG NATION'S BEST
Senior point guard Jordin Canada is listed on many statistical charts among the nation's active players in the NCAA for the 2017-18 season. She is currently 2nd in assists (826), 4th in assists per game (6.07 apg), 4th in steals (344), 5th in triple doubles (2), 6th in free throws made (508), 10th in steals per game (2.53 spg), 10th in free throw attempts (640), 12th in field goal attempts (1,832), 13th in scoring (2,130 points), 15th in field goals made (762) and 45th in free throw percentage (79.4%).

BILLINGS AMONG NATION'S BEST
Senior forward Monique Billings is also listed on many statistical charts among the nation's active players in the NCAA for the 2017-18 season. She is currently 4th in rebounding (1,153), 6th in free throw attempts (675), 7th in double-doubles (46), 7th in games played (140), 13th in blocks (227), 21st in free throws made (433), 37th in scoring (1,749 points) and 40th in field goals made (658).

DRUMMER REBOUNDS
Redshirt junior forward Lajahna Drummer has been a rebounding force in 13 of her last 17 games, grabbing at least six boards in 13 of those contests for an average of 7.8 rebounds per game. She had a career-high-tying 14 boards in a win at Washington State (Jan. 28) and scored 10 points for the second double-double of her career. She had 11 points and 11 rebounds in a win at USC (Feb. 5). She also had 10 rebounds in a win over Stanford (Jan. 21) and 11 in a loss at Oregon State (Feb. 16). She had five points and 11 boards in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal win over California (Mar. 2). She has seven double-digit rebounding games this year (13 in her career).

ONYENWERE ON OFFENSIVE GLASS
Freshman forward Michaela Onyenwere is one of three UCLA Bruins with more offensive rebounds (83) than defensive boards (81) on the year. Her 83 offensive rebounds is second on the team and her 2.4 orpg ranks 10th in the Pac-12. She is thrid on the team in field goal percentage (.473), and has shown the ability to register steals, recording 1.2 per game.

BURKE IS A BALLER
Junior guard Kennedy Burke is one of only two players in the Pac-12 (Sam Thomas, Fr., Arizona) ranked in the top 12 in both steals and blocks (in all games). She averages 1.7 steals per game which is second on the team and sixth in the Pac-12. She also averages 0.9 blocks per game, which is also second on the squad and tied for 12th in the league. Burke also ranks third on the team and 26th in the Pac-12 in scoring (10.6 ppg).

HAYES FOR THREE
Senior guard Kelli Hayes entered her senior season shooting 23.0 percent (17-for-74) from three-point range. This season, it has become a strength, as she has made more three-pointers this year than in the previous three combined, going 48-for-137 for 35.0 percent. The number of three-point field goals made ranks second while the attempted is tops on the team.

DEAN'S LIST
Junior guard Japreece Dean missed the first nine games of the year due to NCAA transfer rules, but she quickly made up for lost time. She is third on the team in three-point field goals made (42) and in attempts (122). Her 1.8 three-point field goals made per game in Pac-12 play led the team and ranked 9th in the league. Her 34.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc ranks fourth on the team. She has made at least one three-pointer in 18 of 25 games she has played and hit multiple treys in a game 11 times this year, including a high of five in wins at Colorado (Jan. 14) and Washington (Jan. 26) and four in the Second Round win over Creighton (Mar. 19).

IT'S MILLER TIME
Freshman forward Lauryn Miller leads the squad in field goal percentage at 54.3 percent (25-for-46) on the season. The number of makes don't qualify her for the Pac-12 or NCAA rankings, but she has shown signs of brilliance in her first collegiate campaign, logging six perfect games without a miss from the field.

BIG MACS ON CAMPUS
UCLA's roster features a school-record five McDonald's All-Americans in 2017-18 as freshman forward Michaela Onyenwere (2017) joins redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro (2016), junior forward Ashley Hearn (2015), redshirt junior forward Lajahna Drummer (2014) and senior point guard Jordin Canada (2014) as current Bruins that have played in the McDonald's All-American Game.

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No. 3 UCLA Faces No. 1 Mississippi State in Elite Eight

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Players Mentioned

Monique Billings

Kennedy Burke

Jordin Canada

Lindsey Corsaro

Japreece Dean

Lajahna Drummer

Kelli Hayes

Ashley Hearn

Kari Korver

Lauryn Miller

Michaela Onyenwere

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 3 UCLA Faces No. 1 Mississippi State in Elite Eight

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Monique Billings

Kennedy Burke

Jordin Canada

Lindsey Corsaro

Japreece Dean

Lajahna Drummer

Kelli Hayes

Ashley Hearn

Kari Korver

Lauryn Miller

Michaela Onyenwere

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