UCLA (14-12) vs. UC Irvine (21-11)
Date: Friday, Mar. 18, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
Watch: pac-12.com/live/ucla (Dave Marcus)
BRUINS ADVANCE TO SEVENTH-STRAIGHT POSTSEASON
This is the seventh consecutive season UCLA has advanced to postseason play. The Bruins were NCAA Tournament participants in five-straight contested tournaments from 2016-21 (there was no postseason in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the Bruins were projected as a high seed at the time of the cancellation of the season) and the WNIT champion in the program's first and only WNIT appearance in 2015.
WNIT GATEWAY TO SUCCESS
As UCLA saw firsthand in 2015, success in the WNIT has led to NCAA Tournament success in subsequent years. After the Bruins won the 2015 WNIT, they went to four consecutive Sweet Sixteens from 2016-19, including the 2018 Elite Eight.
Other recent WNIT winners include:
2019 - Arizona (2021 NCAA runner-up)
2018 - Indiana (2019 NCAA Second Round; 2021 NCAA Elite Eight)
2017 - Michigan (2018, 2019 NCAA Second Round; 2021 NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
2016 - South Dakota (2019 and 2021 NCAA First Round)
2014 - Rutgers (2015 Second Round)
SERIES HISTORY/SCOUTING REPORT: UC IRVINE
UCLA is 9-0 all-time against UC Irvine and last played the Anteaters on Dec. 16, 2015, winning in Pauley Pavilion, 83-48. UC Irvine (21-11) received an automatic qualifying bid for the Big West Conference after finishing second with a 14-4 conference record. The Anteaters also finished second in the conference tournament, losing in the championship game to Hawai'i, 59-48. UC Irvine is led by first-team all-conference guard and 2021 Big West Freshman of the Year Kayla Williams, who is averaging 15.5 points, 4.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and 2022 honorable mention All-Big West guard Chloe Webb, who averages 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
UCLA - 2015 WNIT CHAMPIONS
UCLA won the WNIT in 2015 in its first and only tournament appearance. The Bruins finished the regular season with a 13-18 record but earned the Pac-12's automatic qualifying spot in the tournament. In the first round, UCLA defeated CSU Bakersfield, 70-54, at home and then beat San Diego on the road, 63–58. The Bruins hosted third round and round of 16 games, taking a 74-60 victory over Northern Colorado and an 82-66 win over Saint Mary's. UCLA continued its winning ways in the semifinals, beating Michigan on the road, 69-65, to advance to the championship game in West Virginia. Freshman point guard Jordin Canada dominated in the championship game, scoring 31 points to lead the Bruins to a 62-60 victory. With the Bruins up by just one with under a minute to play, Canada scored on a layup at the 25-second mark and then sealed the win with a steal and two ensuing free throws with 19 seconds remaining.
JAELYNN PENN - 2018 WNIT CHAMPION
Along with UCLA coaches Cori Close, Shannon LeBeauf and Tony Newnan, graduate guard Jaelynn Penn also has a WNIT Championship to her credit, winning in 2018 as a freshman at Indiana. Penn started for the Hoosiers in the championship game, recording a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in Indiana's 65-57 victory over Virginia Tech.
PAC-12 TOURNAMENT RECAP
No. 7 seed UCLA pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat No. 10 seed USC, 73-60, in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, but could not hold onto the lead against No. 2 seed Oregon in the quarterfinals, falling by a score of 63-60. UCLA's transfers shined for the Bruins in the tournament. IImar'I Thomas led the Bruins with 18 points in each game. Jaelynn Penn also scored in double figures in both games, totaling 11 points and seven rebounds against USC and matching Thomas for team-high honors with 18 against Oregon. Angela Dugalic recorded her first career double-double against USC with a career-high-tying 13 points and a career-best 12 rebounds.
NOTES ON THE BRUINS
• UCLA has two players ranked in the Top 5 in scoring in the Pac-12 (No. 2 Charisma Osborne - 16.4 and No. 5 IImar'I Thomas - 15.6). No other school has more than one player in the Top 5.
• UCLA ranks No. 2 in the Pac-12 in turnovers per game (13.2) and in free throw percentage (.778). UCLA had just five turnovers against Oregon in the Pac-12 Quarterfinals and shot 20-for-22 from the foul line against USC In the Pac-12 First Round.
• Thomas has led the Bruins in rebounding in six of the last 10 games and had two double-doubles in the month of February, recording 16 points and 12 rebounds against Cal on Feb. 6 and 16 points and 11 rebounds at Arizona on Feb. 24.
• Angela Dugalic recorded her first career double-double in the Pac-12 Tournament First Round, grabbing career-highs in points (13) and rebounds (12) in the win over USC. Dugalic's point total matched her previous career-high, set last year against UCLA when she was a member of the Oregon Ducks.
• Chantel Horvat recorded her second consecutive 10-rebound game in the Pac-12 Tournament win over USC.
• UCLA has held its opponent under 70 points in nine of the last 10 games and is 14-4 this season when doing so.
UCLA's 1-2 PUNCH -- Charisma Osborne and IImar'I Thomas
UCLA is the only Pac-12 team with a pair of players among the league's Top 5 scorers, with junior guard Charisma Osborne currently third with 16.4 points per game and graduate transfer forward IImar'I Thomas fifth at 15.6 points per game. Osborne was on the Late Season Top 20 Watch List for the John R. Wooden Award, the Midseason Watch List for the Naismith Trophy and the Top 10 Watch List for the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award. She has scored in double figures in 21 of the 23 games she has played this season and has seven 20-point games to her credit this year, along with two double-doubles. In the Pac-12, she ranks third in scoring (16.4) and free throw percentage (86.3%) and fourth in three-point field goals made (54). Thomas has impressed in her first season with the Bruins after transferring from Cincinnati, compiling 23 double-digit scoring efforts, including a 32-point performance in UCLA's dominant victory over San Jose State (Dec. 5) and a pair of double-doubles. She ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring (15.6) and fourth in field goal percentage (54.0%). Osborne has scored 10+ points in 21 of 23 games she has played this season, and Thomas has reached double figures in 20 of UCLA's last 22 contests and in 23 games total. Thomas has led UCLA in rebounding in six of the last 10 contests, and she leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game with 2.7.
BACK IN ACTION
Two players who started the calendar year on the injured list have returned in the past month to play solid minutes for the Bruins. Forward Angela Dugalic, a transfer from Oregon, made her first Bruin appearance on Feb. 11 at Washington State, playing 16 minutes and grabbing four rebounds. Dugalic scored her first points as a Bruin the following game at Washington, netting two baskets and snagging three rebounds in 14 minutes of action. She had a breakthrough game against USC in the Pac-12 Tournament, recording her first career double-double with career-best numbers of 13 points and 12 rebounds in just 19 minutes of play. In nine games, Dugalic is averaging 17.2 minutes, 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Junior guard Camryn Brown returned on Jan. 30 at Oregon State after her ACL injury suffered at the end of 2020-21 and has played in 12 games, with three starts. Brown is shooting 44% from the field, third-best on the team. Junior forward Brynn Masikewich made her first appearance since 2019-20 during the Bruins' Jan. 26 game against Arizona and also saw action at Oregon State on Jan. 30. Additionally, Jaelynn Penn returned on Feb. 13 from a hand injury that kept her out of seven games and has started the last seven games. She had started the season's first 11 games prior to her injury.
FUTURE BRUIN RICE NAMED NAISMITH GIRLS PLAYER OF YEAR
Incoming freshman Kiki Rice was awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club the 2022 Naismith High School Trophy for Girls Player of the Year. Rice, a 5-11 point guard at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC, is the first UCLA women's basketball signee ever to win the National Player of the Year award and the fourth Bruin winner. She joins Lonzo Ball (2016), Shabazz Muhammad (2012) and Kevin Love (2007), who won on the boys' side. Rice has averaged 16 points, 5.2 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game this season. The McDonald's All-American is the No. 2-ranked player and No. 1-ranked point guard in espnW's Class of 2022. She is a two-time gold medalist with USA Basketball and earned District of Columbia Player of the Year honors in both basketball and soccer. She averaged 18.8 points per game at the Nike Girls EYBL last summer.
ELITE RECRUITING CLASS -- Class of 2022
The Bruins have signed ESPN's No. 1 recruiting class in the nation for the high school class of 2022. It's the second No. 1-ranked class for the Bruins, as the 2014 recruiting haul included Lajahna Dummer and Kelli Hayes, as well as future WNBA pros Jordin Canada and Monique Billings. UCLA is now the only Pac-12 school since 2010 to sign multiple No. 1 classes and one of just four schools in the country to accomplish the feat since 2010. Kiki Rice, UCLA's first-ever Naismith Girls Player of the Year, is the highest-ranked recruit in UCLA WBB history. She and Gabriela Jaquez, the sister of UCLA Men's Basketball star Jaime Jaquez Jr., were both named to the McDonald's All-America team. The current class features:
SIGNEEES: #2-ranked Kiki Rice (5-11 point guard), #19-ranked Gabriela Jaquez (6-0 forward), #22-ranked Londynn Jones (5-5 point guard), #49-ranked Christeen Iwuala (6-3 forward), and German standout Lina Sontag.
WELCOME (BACK) TO WESTWOOD -- Transfers and Returners
The Bruins notably have eight players who did not suit up for the program a season ago. Coach Close reloaded with four transfers to fill out the roster: Gina Conti (point guard, Wake Forest), Angela Dugalic (forward, Oregon), Jaelynn Penn (guard, Indiana), and IImar'I Thomas (forward, Cincinnati). UCLA regained the services of Brynn Masikewich, Kayla Owens, and Kiara Jefferson, none of whom were with the program last season for various reasons. Redshirt freshman Izzy Anstey is also with the team for the first time, as the Australia native was unable to travel to the U.S. last year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
PROLIFIC CAREER -- IImar'I Thomas at Cincinnati
Graduate forward IImar'I Thomas currently ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with 15.6 points per game, fourth in field goal percentage (54.0%) and first in offensive rebounds per game (2.7). She has been on fire over the last month, averaging 16.8 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 57.4% (39-68) from the field in her last six games, which include a 20-point outing against Utah (Feb. 20) and a double-double (16 points/11 rebounds) at Arizona (Feb. 24). Thomas transferred to UCLA this past offseason following a sensational four-year career with Cincinnati. She ranked third all-time in scoring there with 1,925 points and is the only player in program history to record 1,900+ points and 800+ rebounds. Thomas was the 2021 AAC Player of the Year after averaging 23.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. The three-time first-team All-AAC selection and 2018 AAC Freshman of the Year scored in double figures 89 times as a Bearcat and recorded 37 games with at least 20 points.