No. 2 Seed UCLA Faces No. 3 Stanford in Pac-12 Tournament Semifinal

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GAME INFORMATION
No. 2 UCLA (26-4, 14-4) vs. No. 3 Stanford Cardinal (26-5, 14-4)
Date: Saturday, Mar. 7
Time: 8:30 p.m. PT
Location: Las Vegas, Nev. (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
Watch: Pac-12 Network (Krista Blunk, Mary Murphy, Jill Savage)
Listen: ucla.leanplayer.com (Play-By-Play: Dave Marcus)

GAME PREVIEW: Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals
The second-seeded Bruins arrive at their fifth-straight Pac-12 Semifinals, taking on No. 3 seed Stanford on Saturday, Mar. 7 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. PT following the conclusion of the first semifinal game between Oregon and Arizona (6:00 p.m.). UCLA's game will be televised live on Pac-12 Network, with Krista Blunk (play-by-play), Mary Murphy (analyst), and Jill Savage (sideline) on the call. Dave Marcus handles radio play-by-play duties for ucla.leanplayer.com.

The Bruins are set to make their 13th overall and fifth-straight appearance in the Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals. UCLA is 5-7 in league semifinal matchups, with its last victory coming against California in 2016, a 73-67 overtime win in Seattle, Wash.

SERIES WITH STANFORD

This is the 89th all-time meeting between UCLA and Stanford, with the Cardinal holding a 62-26 advantage in the series. The Bruins secured a 79-69 road victory in the last meeting between the programs earlier this season (Feb. 7), good for head coach Cori Close's 100th-career Pac-12 victory. Michaela Onyenwere notched 29 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Chantel Horvat scored a career-high 14. The last time the Bruins and Cardinal met in the postseason was in the 2015 Pac-12 Tournament Quarterfinals, a matchup that saw Stanford secure a 67-62 victory. The last time UCLA played Stanford in the semifinals was in 2009, a 73-47 victory for the Cardinal.

WHAT IT MEANS

A win for the Bruins against Stanford would improve the 2019-20 squad to 27-4 overall and move them into a tie for second place for the most wins in program history (2017-18, 1978-79). The 1980-81 team holds the school record with 29 wins. 27 wins would match the most ever recorded during Cori Close's tenure at UCLA (2017-18). A victory over the Cardinal would also send UCLA to its sixth Pac-12 Tournament Championship game and first since 2016. The Bruins fell to Oregon State, 69-57, in 2016. UCLA won its only Pac-12 Tournament title in the team's first-ever appearance in the final in 2006, defeating Stanford, 85-76.

GAME RECAP: No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 7 USC

The Bruins knocked off USC in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, securing a 73-66 victory that notched the season series for UCLA over the Trojans.
Michaela Onyenwere led all players with 26 points and 15 rebounds, her 10th double-double and 13th 20+ point performance of the year. Natalie Chou shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, to total 14 points off the bench. Japreece Dean struggled from the field with just nine points on 2-for-11 shooting, but the senior tallied nine assists and eight rebounds to notch a strong night on the stat sheet.
It was a back-and-forth contest against USC, but the Bruins used a pair of strong quarters to put the Trojans away. UCLA outscored USC 25-13 in the second quarter and 27-14 in the fourth.

THE STORYLINES

UCLA (26-4, 14-4) 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.
Cori Close earned her 100th-career Pac-12 victory in the Bruins' victory over then-No. 6/5 Stanford on Friday, Feb. 7. Close has 198 wins overall and is four victories away from 200 for her career.
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's 14-4 record in Pac-12 games is tied for the best league record in Cori Close's tenure (2017-18, 2015-16, 2012-13).
Charisma Osborne earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors on Monday, Feb. 24. She averaged 25.7 points and 9.7 rebounds across UCLA's week of action, including a pair of career-high scoring performances in the Bruins' wins over Oregon State (Feb. 17) and Washington State (Feb. 21)..
Osborne had a monster night in the Bruins' win over Washington State (Feb. 21). The freshman put up a career-high 32 points and added 11 rebounds, good for her first 30-10 game and the first such performance by a Bruin this season. UCLA's road sweep of then-No. 6 Stanford (Feb. 7) and California (Feb. 9 was the first Bay Area road sweep for the Bruins since 1999.
Senior guard Japreece Dean notched 22 points in UCLA's victory over No. 15 Oregon State (Feb. 19), surpassing 1,000 points for her Bruin career. Dean also dished out a career-high 12 assists against the Beavers, her third game with at least 10 assists this season.
Cori Close was named a top-15 finalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year.
Junior Michaela Onyenwere is the Pac-12's second-leading scorer with 18.8 points per game. The forward is also fourth in the Conference in rebounding, grabbing 8.4 boards per contest.
Forward Michaela Onyenwere was named a top 10 finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award. The award is presented annually to the nation's best small forward.
Guard Japreece Dean was named a top 10 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award. The award is presented annually to the nation's top point guard.
UCLA established a season high with 29 offensive rebounds in the team's victory over Utah (Mar. 1). The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in offensive rebounding with 16.6 per game.
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.
The Bruins have won 75 of their last 84 games at Pauley Pavilion, including 17 of their last 18 (14-1 this year). UCLA went 11-5 at home last season.
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 18 - Mar. 2, 2020) and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll (Week 18 - Mar. 3, 2020).
The Bruins have been in the top 10 in both national polls in each of the last 13 weeks.
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.

PROTECTING PAULEY

UCLA has been simply dominant in Westwood, winning 75 of its last 84 games at home (.893).
The Bruins are 14-1 at home this season and have won 17 of their last 18 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 10-3 on the road in 2019-20. The Bruins have won three true road games against ranked teams this year: at No. 12 Indiana (Dec. 22), at No. 19 Arizona State (Feb. 2), and at No. 6 Stanford (Feb. 7).
The Bruins have won 19 of their last 25 road games over the last two seasons.
Five of UCLA's nine road triumphs last season were against ranked opponents and the Bruins' two top-10 road wins in 2018-19 were the most for 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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No. 2 Seed UCLA Faces No. 3 Stanford in Pac-12 Tournament Semifinal

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Players Mentioned

Camryn Brown

Natalie Chou

Lindsey Corsaro

Japreece Dean

Chantel Horvat

Brynn Masikewich

Michaela Onyenwere

Charisma Osborne

Jaden Owens

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 2 Seed UCLA Faces No. 3 Stanford in Pac-12 Tournament Semifinal

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Players Mentioned

Camryn Brown

Natalie Chou

Lindsey Corsaro

Japreece Dean

Chantel Horvat

Brynn Masikewich

Michaela Onyenwere

Charisma Osborne

Jaden Owens

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