Swanson: Give it to the UCLA women, they’ve earned a Final Four berth
SPOKANE, Wash. — Fours up, finally.
For the first time since 1978, when women’s basketball teams still were playing in Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women tournaments instead in NCAA fields, UCLA is headed for the Final Four.
The No. 1 overall seed in this NCAA Tournament field, these Bruins earned it by defeating third-seeded LSU 72-65 on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s Sweet 16.
They earned it in front of 9,299 fans at Spokane Arena by vanquishing the late-game jitters that had long haunted them – and the annoying second-quarter lulls of late.
And by intentionally practicing chaos to prepare for situations like having their star, Lauren Betts, in foul trouble and watching from the bench the entire second quarter – and seeing her teammates outscore LSU 22-12, anyway, in what turned out to be the game’s decisive frame.
They earned the opportunity to cut down the nets and sign autographs and pose for giddy selfies with fans because they got out of their comfort zone and spoke up. Like when the hyper-competitive Kiki Rice realized that leading by example wasn’t enough. So she called a players-only meeting with Gabriela Jaquez after the Bruins’ second loss to USC, to tell everyone to freaking toughen up.
They earned it by doing things the right way – Coach Cori Close’s way, John Wooden’s way – from the inside out, both in terms of developing the young women in the program and in terms of how they play the game.
And by believing in themselves – a crucial quality that didn’t come automatically to this talented bunch, Close said.
You saw the evolution Sunday, when the 6-foot-7 center Betts – now a vision of confidence supreme – welcomed her usual swarm of defenders and then adeptly kicked out passes to teammates to knock down the big shots, none bigger than Jaquez’s dagger 3-pointer with 1:30 left to that pushed the lead that had just shrunk to five to 62-53.
“We talk about if Lauren kicks it out, you got to be a ready shooter,” Jaquez said. “And I just got to stay ready at all times. I knew that’s the right shot I needed to take, and I have confidence in myself when shooting. I put in the work.”
The Bruins (34-2) earned this next triumphant business trip to Tampa, Florida, where they’ll first face either UConn or their crosstown rivals from USC for the fourth time this season, whoever wins Monday’s Elite Eight matchup in Spokane. The Bruins really don’t care which, Betts promised (because I had to ask).
And Betts was as impactful as promised, despite playing only six first-half minutes.
Coming off a 31-point, 10-rebound performance in UCLA’s Sweet 16 victory, the star junior finished Sunday’s game with 17 points (7-of-14 shooting), seven rebounds and six blocks in just 25 minutes, and she was crowned afterward as the Most Outstanding Player of the Spokane 1 Region.
Jaquez – another junior and the younger sister of former UCLA star and Miami Heat player Jaime Jaquez – led UCLA with 18 points and eight rebounds. She was recognized on the All-Region First Team, along with fellow guard Kiki Rice.
And junior transfer Timea Gardiner sank five timely 3-pointers to help sink the Tigers, who marveled afterward at how freaking tough that West Coast team proved this year: “Very physical,” said LSU’s senior forward Aneesah Morrow, who had her nose bloodied. “We play physical teams, but they very physical on the inside.”
The Bruins proved nervy too, icing the game by making 13 of 15 free throws in the final period and flipping the script on LSU, who’d caught them late and then closed them out at the line exactly one year earlier.
This time UCLA’s gumption was enough to fend of the Tigers’ Flau’Jae Johnson, the multi-faceted talent who fought hard to keep her team in it, scoring 16 of her 28 points in the fourth quarter.
“We have so much respect for what LSU has done,” Close said. “They’re a perennial power, [Coach] Kim Mulkey has won more than almost anyone, and so we have total respect for them.
“That being said, we expected to win.”
Because they earned it. Not just the win, but the belief that they would win.
“We’ve earned all of this,” junior guard Londynn Jones said. “We’ve worked so hard for it.” By putting in all that time behind the scenes, as a team but individually, understanding that that’s what was needed to seriously pursue a national title. Show up after any of UCLA’s practices and you’ll see it, everybody running themselves through extra reps.
A year ago in Albany, N.Y., I remember watching Close at the interview podium, downtrodden after watching her team lose traction late in a 78-69 loss. I listened to her give credit where due, to LSU, the previous season’s national champion, and promise that her own team would get better.
Under Close, the Bruins had made the Elite Eight once, and made the tournament nine of the 14 seasons she’s worked at UCLA, where she was hired in 2011 as a first-time head coach.
A year ago, all she could said was: “We did not execute the way that we needed to, and that’s one that’s going to sting for a really long time for me.”
I remember her accountability that day: “I’m the head coach. I’m responsible. They’re young. I need to lead them better, and I need to lead them into situations where they have the confidence and that we execute in those scenarios.”
And her promise: “We’ll be back.”
Back and better than ever.
Give it to the Bruins, freaking tough bunch; they’ve earned it.