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UCLA women’s basketball ‘ready to go’ for rematch against unbeaten South Carolina

Freshman guard Kiki Rice prepares to drive the lane. Rice is averaging 11.9 points and 3.1 assists for the Bruins this season. (Alex Driscoll/Daily Bruin staff)

Women's Basketball


No. 1 seed South Carolina
Saturday, 11 a.m.

Greenville, South Carolina
ESPN

By Gavin Carlson

March 24, 2023 5:50 p.m.

As the Bruins sat inside Wasserman Football Center and watched the NCAA Tournament’s selection show, they had one primary wish.

To earn a No. 4 seed and the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

So when the Bruins found out their seeding wishes came true, the room burst into cheers.

But despite the clear excitement at the news, one elephant in the room remained – the No. 1 seed in their region.

UCLA had just earned a likely Sweet 16 matchup against the undisputed best team in the nation.

Three weeks later, and that matchup – a rematch from earlier this season – has arrived.

No. 4 seed UCLA women’s basketball (27-9, 11-7 Pac-12) will have the opportunity for revenge against No. 1 seed South Carolina (34-0, 16-0 SEC) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Greenville, South Carolina. The then-No. 15 ranked Bruins almost ended the top-ranked Gamecocks’ then-seven-game winning streak in a single-digit loss in Columbia, South Carolina, back on Nov. 29, but the defending national champions’ win streak currently sits at 40 straight games heading into Saturday.

Coach Cori Close acknowledged the upcoming opponent’s dominance.

“They are a tremendous team. They’re undefeated for a reason. They’re really, really talented,” Close said. “But you know what, we’re really talented too, and we’re growing in our confidence.”

During the nonconference regular-season matchup in November, UCLA and South Carolina were tied at 47 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Gamecocks had won 13 straight games at home heading into the matchup, but it took struggles in the clutch – including a late technical foul on freshman guard Kiki Rice – for the defending champions to outscore the Bruins by nine points in the final period and escape with the home victory in a game that drew 12,501 fans.

Close said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley predicted the upcoming postseason rematch after the first meeting between the two teams.

“When I was going through the line after the game, she said, ‘We will meet again,’” Close said. “I would’ve rather it been the Final Four, but the reality of that is our players have a great bit of confidence because of the way they competed (in that game).”

UCLA nearly stopped the defending champ in its place despite an inefficient night offensively.

Senior guard Charisma Osborne led all scorers with 24 points in the contest and made 10 of her 11 free throw attempts, but she shot just 6-of-18 from the field.

Outside of a miniscule 1-of-2 shooting performance from senior guard Camryn Brown, not a single Bruin shot at least 50% from the floor as the blue and gold combined to shoot 32.3% from the field for the game. UCLA shot 3-of-15 in the fourth quarter to watch the game slip away.

But this is a far different squad than it was in November.

The Bruins have won six of their last seven games and are coming off an 82-point performance, their highest output since Feb. 5, against No. 5 seed Oklahoma. Rice has ascended to new heights as the end of her freshman season approaches, and redshirt sophomore forward Emily Bessoir is coming off an All-Pac-12 tournament performance of her own.

Following the Round of 32 victory, Rice said the team was already focused on the upcoming rematch.

“We didn’t just come here to make it to the Sweet 16,” Rice said. “We still have more games to take care of, and we’re looking forward to the road ahead.”

And then there’s Osborne, who set a Bruins postseason record when she scored a career-high 36 points in the game Monday.

UCLA will also have one more addition.

Freshman forward Christeen Iwuala will be a new face introduced into the rematch after she missed the opening meeting because a concussion. The 6-foot-2 newcomer has averaged 12 minutes per game and will pose a new interior presence that South Carolina hasn’t faced.

“We’re going to be able to come in with more of a punch that we’d be able to give them,” Iwuala said. “We were not at full capacity last game, so I feel like we’ve got nothing to lose now – we’re ready to go.”

The Bruins and Gamecocks will face off at 11 a.m. for a trip to the Elite Eight on Saturday in Greenville.

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Gavin Carlson | Sports staff
Carlson is currently a staff writer on the football, men's basketball and women's basketball beats. He was previously a reporter on the softball and men's golf beats.
Carlson is currently a staff writer on the football, men's basketball and women's basketball beats. He was previously a reporter on the softball and men's golf beats.
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