University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Photo by: Jesus Ramirez
Bruins Hold First Round Press Conferences Ahead of NCAA Tournament
March 17, 2023 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES โ UCLA Women's Basketball spoke to members of the media inside the Dick Enberg Press Room in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom as part of the first-round media availability Friday.
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The Bruins look forward to hosting the first two rounds of March Madness. "It's super fun and just to be able to have our fans and my family come out and see us play here again," Charisma Osborne said during her availability. "It's going to be really fun."
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GAME INFORMATION
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Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Tip-off Time: 8:30 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Ann Schatz, Meghan McKeown
Radio: ucla.leanplayer.com
Radio Talent: Dave Marcus
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Coach's Corner
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"You know, I have been doing this 30 years, and it just never gets old," said the Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close in her opening statement. "It's just such a special, special experience. I'm just really grateful and excited to get out there and compete."
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When asked about the parity in women's basketball in the current season, Close said "it really helps you know the urgency that needs to go into every single game in preparation because there's no guarantees, and that's both in the first and second rounds. That's at the regional levels.
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You know, parity is good. And new eyes, but also new names that people are seeing in our game are really important. And so I think that we just we want to continue to grow it from the grassroots level all the way up."
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On sharing the tournament experience with the men's team, Close said, "We really have enjoyed just the camaraderie we felt. Obviously, it's at a heightened amount with Gabriela Jaquez and Jaime Jaquez and just that shared experience, what a phenomenal family.
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And I think we really have a shared formula of success that it really is about toughness and togetherness. It's been fun to watch what that looks like and plays out for the men. I'm really excited to showcase what that's going to look like for us as well."
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The full press conference with Coach Cori Close is available here.
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In the Huddle
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"The last two years, I have played point guard more," said senior Charisma Osborne when asked about how her role on the court has evolved. "This year, I got to go back to the shooting guard role a little more," the senior said. "It's changed in that sense, but even just with the freshman, I think it's been so fun to have them because they have challenged me as a leader to just be a better teammate, just be more helpful to them because this is all just so new to them."
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When asked about the freshmen class, redshirt-sophomore Emily Bessoir added, "they have been so amazing. They're such sponges. But each and every one of them has their own edge and their confidence, but they're also so willing to learn. So, I think it has been super fun having them. They're a great addition to the team."
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Osborne chimed in, "They have grown so much. It has just been so fun to see them from the beginning to now, to see like the players that they have become. And even just like I want to give a shout out to all of other like veterans like Emily, Gina, Cam, Izzy, Brynn, Angela, I think, that's all, just for leading the way.
ย
Obviously, it's not easy having a lot of freshmen who play a lot of minutes and we are so fortunate to have them, but I think they wouldn't even be able to do what they have been doing really without the leadership we have."
ย
"At the end of the day, like yes, it is the tournament," remarked Bessoir when asked coming into a tournament with a lot of new players, "but it's also a game that we know how to play and played this whole season. So yeah, there are more nerves and more emotions revolving around it, but I think we do a really good job of tuning that out during the game."
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"We have that leadership and that experience that we can help the younger players. But at the end of the day, like I think we have really good confidence and able to manage that," said the German forward.
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The full press conference with Bessoir, Osborne is available here.
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The Bruins look forward to hosting the first two rounds of March Madness. "It's super fun and just to be able to have our fans and my family come out and see us play here again," Charisma Osborne said during her availability. "It's going to be really fun."
ย
GAME INFORMATION
ย
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Tip-off Time: 8:30 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Ann Schatz, Meghan McKeown
Radio: ucla.leanplayer.com
Radio Talent: Dave Marcus
ย
ย
Coach's Corner
ย
"You know, I have been doing this 30 years, and it just never gets old," said the Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close in her opening statement. "It's just such a special, special experience. I'm just really grateful and excited to get out there and compete."
ย
When asked about the parity in women's basketball in the current season, Close said "it really helps you know the urgency that needs to go into every single game in preparation because there's no guarantees, and that's both in the first and second rounds. That's at the regional levels.
ย
You know, parity is good. And new eyes, but also new names that people are seeing in our game are really important. And so I think that we just we want to continue to grow it from the grassroots level all the way up."
ย
On sharing the tournament experience with the men's team, Close said, "We really have enjoyed just the camaraderie we felt. Obviously, it's at a heightened amount with Gabriela Jaquez and Jaime Jaquez and just that shared experience, what a phenomenal family.
ย
And I think we really have a shared formula of success that it really is about toughness and togetherness. It's been fun to watch what that looks like and plays out for the men. I'm really excited to showcase what that's going to look like for us as well."
ย
The full press conference with Coach Cori Close is available here.
ย
In the Huddle
ย
"The last two years, I have played point guard more," said senior Charisma Osborne when asked about how her role on the court has evolved. "This year, I got to go back to the shooting guard role a little more," the senior said. "It's changed in that sense, but even just with the freshman, I think it's been so fun to have them because they have challenged me as a leader to just be a better teammate, just be more helpful to them because this is all just so new to them."
ย
When asked about the freshmen class, redshirt-sophomore Emily Bessoir added, "they have been so amazing. They're such sponges. But each and every one of them has their own edge and their confidence, but they're also so willing to learn. So, I think it has been super fun having them. They're a great addition to the team."
ย
Osborne chimed in, "They have grown so much. It has just been so fun to see them from the beginning to now, to see like the players that they have become. And even just like I want to give a shout out to all of other like veterans like Emily, Gina, Cam, Izzy, Brynn, Angela, I think, that's all, just for leading the way.
ย
Obviously, it's not easy having a lot of freshmen who play a lot of minutes and we are so fortunate to have them, but I think they wouldn't even be able to do what they have been doing really without the leadership we have."
ย
"At the end of the day, like yes, it is the tournament," remarked Bessoir when asked coming into a tournament with a lot of new players, "but it's also a game that we know how to play and played this whole season. So yeah, there are more nerves and more emotions revolving around it, but I think we do a really good job of tuning that out during the game."
ย
"We have that leadership and that experience that we can help the younger players. But at the end of the day, like I think we have really good confidence and able to manage that," said the German forward.
ย
The full press conference with Bessoir, Osborne is available here.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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