The Bruins have reached the end of a six-game stretch that included four road games and five ranked opponents.
After going 4-2 in that portion of its schedule, No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball (22-3, 11-3 Pac-12) now ranks third in the conference with only four games remaining in conference play.
With the Pac-12 tournament 14 days away, the most experienced Bruin – redshirt senior guard Japreece Dean – said she has been trying to support her teammates through the team’s challenging schedule.
“It’s a grind – every game is going to be a great game because this conference is super good,” Dean said. “As the season has gone on, (I’m) just remembering to keep (my teammates) encouraged, always texting them.”
Dean said one of those texts went to freshman guard Charisma Osborne after Osborne missed the most 3-pointers in one game in her collegiate career Friday, going 0-for-8 from deep against No. 3 Oregon.
Despite Osborne’s struggles against the Ducks, junior forward Michaela Onyenwere said her confidence in the freshman did not waver.
“I told (Osborne) the other day, I have the utmost trust in you to do what you do,” Onyenwere said. “As far as a freshman to have that role … she deserves it because she works so hard.”
Osborne wasn’t the only one to shoot below her average from 3-point range during this stretch. UCLA as a team shot 8.7% and 11.8% from 3-point range in its two losses at against Oregon and Arizona, respectively, and these totals were good for its second and third-worst performances from beyond the arc in conference play.
On Sunday, however, the Bruins improved to 42.9% from 3-point range. UCLA is now 14-0 on the season when firing above 25% from distance, compared to 8-3 when converting a quarter of its 3-pointers or fewer.
Coach Cori Close said the Bruins’ shooting performances can also impact their play on the defensive side of the ball.
“We’ve just been struggling so much shooting the ball, and when you get to see it go through the net, it definitely feeds your energy on the defensive end,” Close said. “At Arizona, Friday night, not seeing the ball go through the hole early in the game, we let that affect our defense and our toughness.”
In its two worst performances offensively from the field in this six-game stretch, which were also its two losses, UCLA allowed both Oregon and Arizona to shoot over 50% from the field – the only time this season any of the Bruins’ opponents exceeded that mark.
Additionally, as UCLA moves on to a two-game road trip against the conference’s two Washington schools, Close said the recent schedule taught her what matters in her team’s performance.
“(I learned) how important toughness and togetherness is,” Close said. “The ones we didn’t (rise up), we let wrong things distract us. I learned that when (my players) put their minds to something, when they control their responses, they’re very tough to beat.”
