No. 8/9 UCLA Heads to Arizona for Ranked Showdown

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GAME INFORMATION
No. 8/9 UCLA (18-1, 7-1) vs. No. 16/17 Arizona (16-3, 5-3)
Date: Friday, Jan. 31
Time: 6:00 p.m. MT/5:00 p.m. PT
Location: Tucson, Ariz. (McKale Center)
Watch: Pac-12 Network
Listen: Live Audio (Play-By-Play: Dave Marcus)

GAME PREVIEW
UCLA (18-1, 7-1) leaves Los Angeles for the first of a four-game road trip, taking on Arizona (16-3, 8-2) at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, Jan. 31. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. MT/5:00 p.m. PT with Pac-12 Networks televising the action. Radio coverage of the action will be available on ucla.leanplayer.com with play-by-play commentator Dave Marcus on the call.

Arizona enters tonight's matchup at 16-3 overall, with the team's only three losses coming in Conference play. The Wildcats opened the year 13-0 and boasted a 19-game winning streak that dated back to Arizona's WNIT title run at the end of the 2019 season. They secured an impressive win at then-No. 22 Texas (Nov. 17) in which guard Aari McDonald dropped 44 points on 14-18 shooting from the floor and 14-14 from the free throw line. Arizona also won its first two Pac-12 games of the year, taking road victories over Arizona State (Dec. 29) and USC (Jan. 3).

The Wildcats and Bruins were both 13-0 when the teams met in Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 5 of this year. The teams were tied at 31 after the first half, but the Bruins used a dominant third quarter, in which they outscored Arizona 28-13, to run away with the victory in the second half. Michaela Onyenwere led the Bruins with 18 points and 13 rebounds, her 20th-career double-double. Chantel Horvat came off the bench to record her first-career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Tonight's game is the 83rd all-time meeting between the programs with the Bruins holding a strong 61-21 advantage in the series advantage. UCLA is currently riding a 13-game winning streak against the Wildcats. Aari McDonald will be of primary concern to the Bruins tonight, as the junior guard is leading the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.5 points per game. The Wildcats have also been getting consistent scoring production from sophomore Cate Reese, who is averaging 13.8 points per game this season. The Bruins will work to keep Arizona off of the free throw line, as the Wildcats lead the Conference in free throw percentage (.803), as well as free throws made (14.3) and attempted (17.8) per contest.

UP NEXT
The Bruins finish up the weekend road trip with their second ranked opponent in as many games, taking on Arizona State on Sunday, Feb. 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. MT/11:00 a.m. PT at Desert Financial Arena with Pac-12 Networks on the broadcast call.

THE STORYLINES

UCLA (18-1, 7-1) got off to the best start in program history with 16-straight wins to open the season. The Bruins surpassed the 1980-81 squad's original streak of 12-straight wins to start the year with a 68-66 win over Arizona State (Jan. 3).
With Oregon State's loss to Arizona State (Jan. 12), the Bruins became the last remaining undefeated team in the nation at 16-0. This is the first time the last undefeated team in the nation has been from the Pac-12.
The Bruins opened the season 5-0 in Conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 season, when the team won its first six Pac-12 games.
UCLA is in its ninth season under head coach Cori Close, who is 11 wins away from 200 for her career and owns an overall record of 190-100 (.656). She is also 98-54 (.645) in Conference play.
Since league play began, UCLA is leading the Conference in offensive rebounds (16.5) and steals per game (10.1). The team is also second in the league in assists per game (16.9) and is averaging the second-fewest turnovers per contest (11.0)
UCLA established a season high with 28 offensive rebounds in the team's victory over Washington (Jan. 24). The Bruins rank eighth in the country in offensive rebounds per game (16.3) and are second in the Pac-12.
Michaela Onyenwere notched a career-high 31 points in UCLA's win over Washington (Jan. 24), adding nine rebounds and two assists in the performance. She also knocked down a career-high 13 field goals.
With her 100th-career steal against Arizona (Jan. 5), junior forward Michaela Onyenwere became the 23rd player in UCLA history to register 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, and 100 career steals (1,238 pts, 603 reb, 105 steals).
The Bruins have won 72 of their last 80 games at Pauley Pavilion, including their last 14 (11-0 this year). UCLA went 11-5 at home last season.
UCLA established a school record in the win over Loyola Marymount (Nov. 9) with 11 assists in the second quarter. It marked the most assists of any quarter for the Bruins.
In 2018-19, Cori Close led UCLA to its fourth-straight 20-win season and fourth-straight trip to the Sweet 16. UCLA joins a list of eight teams in the NCAA that have made the Sweet 16 each of the past four seasons (Baylor, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon State, South Carolina, Stanford, UConn).

BRUINS IN THE POLLS

UCLA is ranked No. 8 in the most recent Associated Press (AP) Poll (Week 13 - Jan. 27, 2020) and No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll (Week 13 - Jan. 28, 2020), marking the eighth-straight week the Bruins have been in the top 10 in both national polls.
UCLA was ranked No. 11 in both the Associated Press (AP) and USA TODAY Coaches preseason polls.
The Bruins are one of six Pac-12 teams ranked in both the AP and USA Today Polls.
The Pac-12 Conference boasts four teams in the top-10 in the AP Poll (No. 3 Oregon, No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 UCLA, and No. 10 Oregon State).

BRUINS TAKE DOWN WASHINGTON STATE, SECURE HOME SWEEP

UCLA secured a weekend home sweep with a 66-50 victory over Washington State on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins tied a season-high with 14 steals and added 19 points off Cougar turnovers to control the defensive tempo and secure the victory.
The teams were tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter, but the Bruins went on to outscore WSU 40-19 over the next two quarters to take a 21-point lead into the fourth quarter. After the Cougars cut the deficit to 12 with an 11-0 run in the fourth, the Bruins responded with six-straight points and iced the game away on the offensive glass.
The Bruins were led by junior Michaela Onyenwere, who led all scores with 23 points, good for her ninth 20+ point performance of the year. Freshman Charisma Osborne put up 16 points and five rebounds in the win, while senior Japreece Dean and junior Lauryn Miller each contributed 10 points.

UCLA DEFEATS WASHINGTON IN OVERTIME, 85-80

The Bruins overcame a 15-point second quarter deficit to defeat Washington, 85-80. Michaela Onyenwere put up a career-high 31 points and added nine rebounds in the win. Natalie Chou drained four three-pointers en route to 18 points on the night.
The Bruins outscored the Huskies 26-12 in the third quarter to take a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but UW battled back to send the game into overtime. UCLA went on a 7-1 run to open the overtime session and iced the game away at the line, solidifying the 85-80 victory.

BRUINS FALL IN HEARTBREAKER TO USC, SUFFER FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON

UCLA suffered its first loss of the 2019-20 season, falling to USC, 70-68, in double overtime.
The Bruins were led by senior guard Japreece Dean, who put up a team-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Freshman Charisma Osborne notched her sixth-consecutive double-digit scoring performance, recording a career-high 20 points on the night.
The Trojans led by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter, but the Bruins battled back to send the game to overtime. Down three with just six seconds to play in OT, Dean dribbled into the frontcourt and found Natalie Chou on a beautiful skip pass to the corner, and Chou drained the game-tying three-ball as time expired. Despite opening the second overtime period on a 7-1 run, the Bruins couldn't hold off USC as the Trojans scored 10 straight points to end the game, solidifying the final score, 70-68.

UCLA EDGES COLORADO IN GAME OF RUNS

The Bruins survived a late rally by Colorado, holding on for a 65-62 win to improve to 16-0 overall become the nation's last undefeated team. UCLA also went to 5-0 in Conference play for the first time since the 2002-03 squad won its first six conference matchups.
The Bruins led by as many as 25 points late in the third quarter, but Colorado ended the frame on an 11-0 to cut into the deficit. The Buffs outscored the Bruins 22-11 in the fourth, but missed a three-point attempt that would have tied the game with three seconds left.
Junior Michaela Onyenwere led all scores with 19 points and added eight rebounds in the win. Senior Japreece Dean and freshman Charisma Osborne each contributed 13 points.

UCLA PASSES FIRST ROAD TEST OF 2020

UCLA continued its record-setting start to the season in its 84-54 victory over Utah, improving to 15-0 to extend its program record for most consecutive wins to start a season. The win also moved the Bruins to 4-0 in Conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
After a fairly tight game through three quarters, the Bruins exploded for 35 points in the fourth and held the Utes to just 12 points in the final frame to secure a 30-point victory.
Freshman Charisma Osborne had 17 points on the night and hit a career-high five three-pointers. Junior Michaela Onyenwere led all scores with 18 points and added nine rebounds in the victory. Senior Japreece Dean notched four assists and eclipsed the 300-assist milestone for her UCLA career.

PROTECTING PAULEY

UCLA has been simply dominant in Westwood, winning 71 of its last 79 games at home (.899).
The Bruins are 10-0 at home this season and have won their last 13 games in Westwood dating back to last season.
The Bruins went 46-3 at home between 2015-16 and 2017-18.

ROAD WARRIORS

UCLA is 6-0 on the road in 2019-20 and has won its last seven games on the road. Additionally, UCLA has won nine in a row on the road against unranked teams and two against ranked teams.
UCLA finished 9-3 on the road in 2018-19.
Five of UCLA's nine road triumphs were against ranked opponents.
The Bruins' two top-10 road wins were the most by the program since the 1980-81 season.

ALL-PAC-12 SELECTIONS RETURNING

UCLA returns All-Pac-12 honoree Michaela Onyenwere, the team's top returning scorer (18.3 ppg) and rebounder (8.5 rpg). She eclipsed the 30-point mark at Maryland last season, becoming the second Bruin ever (Nikki Blue) to score at least 30 in the Big Dance and propelling UCLA to its fourth-straight Sweet 16.
Lindsey Corsaro made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2018-19. She averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG and scored a career-high 18 points vs. Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament.

FRESH FACES

UCLA's top-10 recruiting class made its debut in Westwood in the win over Weber State on Nov. 5, 2019. The highly-touted includes McDonald's All-Americans, Jaden Owens and Charisma Osborne, as well as 6-2 forward Brynn Masikewich (DNP) and defensive stopper Camryn Brown (DNP).
After redshirting due to NCAA transfer rules (Baylor), Natalie Chou finally had an opportunity to contribute on the court. She played 64 career games (21 starts) for the Lady Bears, averaging 5.5 PPG and 2.6 RPG.

HARD WORK IN THE CLASSROOM

The Bruin women's basketball program notched a 100 percent graduation rate in 2018-19, helping UCLA Athletics tally an all-time high Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 92 percent.

YOU BETTER WATCH OUT

Japreece Dean was named to the Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation's top point guard. A total of 20 point guards were named to the list, five of which came from the Pac-12. This was the most out of any conference in the NCAA. In 2018-19, Dean finished third on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game and ranked seventh in the Pac-12 in assists per game at 4.9. In the final seven games of the season, she registered 16.7 points and 6.6 assists per outing.
Japreece Dean and Michaela Onyenwere made the Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List. A total of 50 players made the list, which will be trimmed to 30 in early February.
Michaela Onyenwere was one of five forwards from the Pac-12 who earned a spot on the Watch List for the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award, which recognizes the top small forward in the country. Last year, she led the Bruins in scoring (18.3 PPG) and ranked second on the team in rebounds (8.5 RPG). Onyenwere hauled in 4.1 offensive boards – good for second in the Pac-12 and 11th nationally.
Adding to her list of preseason plaudits, Michaela Onyenwere also made the 2019-20 Preseason 'Wade Watch' List, an award given to the best player in women's college basketball. Last season, the award was given to Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon.
Michaela Onyenwere earned a spot on the Women's Preseason Top 30 Watch List on ESPNW for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's®. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
Michaela Onyenwere was selected among the 35 outstanding players by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for its 2019-20 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List. Members of the association's board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the National Player of the Year.

ELITE PROGRAM

UCLA eclipsed the 20-win mark and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season under Cori Close.
The Bruins averaged an astounding 17.3 offensive rebounds per game in 2018-19, ranking first in the Pac-12 and second in the NCAA. Over four of those offensive boards came from Michaela Onyenwere, who was 11th in the NCAA in that category.
UCLA took down seven ranked opponents last year.
The Bruins had two top-10 wins, defeating No. 2 Oregon and No. 9 Maryland.
For the fourth-straight season, UCLA finished fourth or higher in the Pac-12 Conference.

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