2021–22 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team

The 2021–22 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins were led by eleventh-year head coach Cori Close. They played their home games at Pauley Pavilion and competed as members of the Pac-12 Conference.

2021–22 UCLA Bruins women's basketball
WNIT, semifinals
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Record18–13 (8–8 Pac-12)
Head coach
Associate head coachShannon Perry-LeBeauf
Assistant coaches
  • Tasha Brown
  • Tony Newnan
Home arenaPauley Pavilion
(Capacity: 13,800)
Seasons
2021–22 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Stanford 16 0   1.000 32 4   .889
Oregon 11 6   .647 20 12   .625
Washington State 11 6   .647 19 11   .633
No. 19 Arizona 10 6   .625 21 8   .724
Colorado 9 7   .563 22 9   .710
Utah 8 7   .533 21 12   .636
UCLA 8 8   .500 18 13   .581
Oregon State 6 9   .400 17 14   .548
Arizona State 4 9   .308 12 14   .462
USC 5 12   .294 12 16   .429
California 2 10   .167 11 13   .458
Washington 2 12   .143 7 16   .304
2022 Pac-12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The Bruins were invited to the WNIT as the automatic qualifier for the Pac-12 Conference. It was the Bruins' first WNIT appearance since 2015, when they were WNIT champions.

Previous season

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The Bruins finished the season 17–6, 12–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the Pac-12 women's tournament they advanced to the championship game where they lost to Stanford.[1] As a three seed in the NCAA tournament, the Bruins managed to beat Wyoming in the 1st round,[2] but then they lost to Texas in the second round to end their season.[3]

Offseason

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Departures

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Due to COVID-19 disruptions throughout NCAA sports in 2020–21, the NCAA announced that the 2020–21 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any individual involved in an NCAA winter sport, including women's basketball. This meant that all seniors in 2020–21 had the option to return for 2021–22.

UCLA Departures
Name Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Lindsay Corsaro G 6'1"   Junior Indianapolis, IN Graduated
Michaela Onyenwere F 6'0" Senior Aurora, CO Graduated; selected 6th overall by the New York Liberty in the 2021 WNBA draft
Lauryn Miller F 6'1" Senior Kirkwood, MO Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Num Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous school
Gina Conti 10 G 5'11" Graduate Student Grove City, OH Wake Forest
IImar'I Thomas 24 F 5'10" Graduate Student Oakland, CA Cincinnati
Jaelynn Penn 31 G 5'10" Graduate Student Louisville, KY Indiana
Angela Dugalić 32 F 6'4" Sophomore Des Plaines, IL Oregon

Preseason

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  • October 12, 2021 – The Bruins were picked to finish third in both the 2021-22 Pac-12 Preseason Media and Coaches Polls, behind Stanford and Oregon
  • October 25, 2021 – Gina Conti was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award top 20 watch list (Top point guard)
  • October 26, 2021 – Charisma Osborne was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award top 20 watch list (Best shooting guard)
  • November 3, 2021 – Preseason All-Pac-12 team: Charisma Osborne; Gina Conti and Natalie Chou (Honorable mention)
  • November 9, 2021 – Charisma Osborne was named to three watch lists (Wade Trophy, Wooden Award, and Naismith Trophy)

Roster

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2021–22 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Chantel Horvat 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Sr Geelong College Geelong, Australia
G 1 Kayla Owens 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Sr Langham Creek Houston, TX
G 2 Dominique Onu 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS Fr Blair Academy Jacksonville, FL
G 3 Kiara Jefferson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr West Campus Sacramento, CA
F 5 Brynn Masikewich 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Lincoln Prep Calgary, Alberta
G 10 Gina Conti   5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) GS Grove City High
Wake Forest
Grove City, OH
F 11 Emily Bessoir   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Fr Wilhelm-Hausenstein Gymnasium Munich, Germany
G 20 Charisma Osborne 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Windward School Moreno Valley, CA
G 23 Natalie Chou 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) GS Plano West
Baylor
Plano, TX
F 24 IImar'I Thomas 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GS Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep
Cincinnati
Oakland, CA
G 31 Jaelynn Penn 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GS Butler Traditional
Indiana
Louisville, KY
F 32 Angela Dugalić 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Fr Maine West
Oregon
Des Plaines, IL
G 35 Camryn Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Prestonwood Christian Lewisville, TX
F 43 Izzy Anstey 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Fr Caulfield Melbourne, Australia
G 51 Eliana Sigal (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Tarbut V' Torah Irvine, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: August 24, 2021

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 10, 2021*
7:00 pm, P12N
No. 20 Pepperdine W 78–69  1–0
 24  Osborne   7  Thomas   4  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (1,363)
Los Angeles, CA
November 18, 2021*
7:00 pm, live stream
No. 20 Cal State Northridge W 73–46  2–0
 21  Thomas   9  Anstey   7  Penn  Pauley Pavilion (794)
Los Angeles, CA
November 21, 2021*
3:00 pm, P12N
No. 20 Virginia W 69–57  3–0
 20  Chou   6  Owens   7  Penn  Pauley Pavilion (1,077)
Los Angeles, CA
November 26, 2021*
10:30 am, FloHoops
No. 19 vs. Kent State
Gulf Coast Showcase
L 69–75  3–1
 21  Osborne   8  Penn   3  Tied  Hertz Arena (150)
Estero, FL
November 27, 2021*
8:00 am, FloHoops
No. 19 vs. South Dakota State
Gulf Coast Showcase consolation
L 66–76  3–2
 18  Thomas   7  Tied   2  Tied  Hertz Arena (213)
Estero, FL
November 28, 2021*
8:00 am, FloHoops
No. 19 vs. St. John's (NY)
Gulf Coast Showcase seventh place
W 73–65  4–2
 19  Tied   11  Osborne   6  Osborne  Hertz Arena (143)
Estero, FL
December 5, 2021*
2:00 pm, live stream
San Jose State W 112–33  5–2
 32  Thomas   9  Owens   11  Chou  Pauley Pavilion (1,362)
Los Angeles, CA
December 11, 2021*
10:00 am, ABC
vs. No. 3 UConn
Never Forget Tribute Classic
L 61–71  5–3
 26  Osborne   8  Anstey   3  Penn  Prudential Center (9,236)
Newark, NJ
December 16, 2021*
7:00 pm, live stream
Texas Southern Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the UCLA program[a] Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 19, 2021*
5:00 pm, P12N
Ohio State Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the UCLA program[b] Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 21, 2021*
1:00 pm, live stream
Cal State Bakersfield Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the UCLA program[c] Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
December 31, 2021
6:00 pm, P12N
Arizona State Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the UCLA program[d] Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
January 7, 2022
6:00 pm, P12N
at Utah Canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Utah program[e] Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, UT
January 9, 2022
10:00 am, P12N
at Colorado L 63–71  5–4
(0–1)
 15  Chou   13  Anstey   5  Chou  CU Events Center (1,652)
Boulder, CO
January 14, 2022
7:00 pm, P12N
Washington W 63–48  6–4
(1–1)
 25  Thomas   8  Penn   6  Onu  Pauley Pavilion (0)
Los Angeles, CA
January 16, 2022
12:00 pm, P12N
Washington State W 71–58  7–4
(2–1)
 25  Osborne   10  Owens   4  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (0)
Los Angeles, CA
January 20, 2022
6:30 pm, P12N
USC
Rivalry
W 66–43  8–4
(3–1)
 20  Thomas   7  Thomas   7  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (0)
Los Angeles, CA
January 23, 2022
6:00 pm, P12N
at USC
Rivalry
W 68–58  9–4
(4–1)
 27  Osborne   9  Anstey   7  Thomas  Galen Center (1,892)
Los Angeles, CA
January 26, 2022[f]
5:00 pm, P12N
No. 8 Arizona L 63–74  9–5
(4–2)
 14  Thomas   10  Onu   5  Onu  Pauley Pavilion (826)
Los Angeles, CA
January 28, 2022
8:00 pm, P12N
at No. 19 Oregon Forfeited to Oregon due to excess non-COVID injuries within the UCLA program. Matthew Knight Arena 
Eugene, OR
January 30, 2022
2:00 pm, P12N
at Oregon State L 58–72  9–6
(4–4)
 13  Tied   7  Onu   4  Thomas  Gill Coliseum (4,341)
Corvallis, OR
February 3, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 2 Stanford
Blue Out
L 48–76  9–7
(4–5)
 12  Osborne   8  Owens   6  Thomas  Pauley Pavilion (2,100)
Los Angeles, CA
February 6, 2022
12:00 pm, P12N
California W 59–54  10–7
(5–5)
 16  Thomas   12  Thomas   4  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (1,620)
Los Angeles, CA
February 11, 2022
7:00 pm, P12N
at Washington State L 65–66  10–8
(5–6)
 23  Osborne   6  Thomas   3  Tied  Beasley Coliseum (1,120)
Pullman, WA
February 13, 2022
12:00 pm, P12N
at Washington W 69–61  11–8
(6–6)
 22  Osborne   9  Horvat   5  Osborne  Alaska Airlines Arena (1,472)
Seattle, WA
February 16, 2022[g]*
4:00 pm, P12N
at Oregon L 53–67  11–9
 16  Tied   9  Thomas   3  Horvat  Matthew Knight Arena (7,223)
Eugene, OR
February 18, 2022
7:00 pm, P12N
Colorado L 54–67  11–10
(6–7)
 17  Thomas   8  Thomas   6  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (2,204)
Los Angeles, CA
February 20, 2022
12:00 pm, P12N
Utah L 70–75  11–11
(6–8)
 20  Thomas   9  Thomas   3  Tied  Pauley Pavilion (1,630)
Los Angeles, CA
February 24, 2022
6:00 pm, P12N
at No. 12 Arizona W 64–46  12–11
(7–8)
 17  Osborne   11  Thomas   4  Chou  McKale Center (8,067)
Tucson, AZ
February 26, 2022
11:00 am, P12N
at Arizona State W 59–52  13–11
(8–8)
 17  Osborne   10  Horvat   4  Tied  Desert Financial Arena (2,176)
Tempe, AZ
Pac-12 Women's Tournament
March 2, 2022
6:00 pm, P12N
(7) vs. (10) USC
First Round
W 73–60  14–11
 18  Thomas   12  Dugalić   3  Osborne  Michelob Ultra Arena (3,010)
Paradise, NV
March 3, 2022
6:00 pm, P12N
(7) vs. (2) Oregon
Quarterfinals
L 60–63  14–12
 18  Tied   7  Osborne   8  Osborne  Michelob Ultra Arena (4,428)
Paradise, NV
WNIT
March 18, 2022*
6:50 pm, Live Stream
UC Irvine
First Round
W 61–48  15–12
 19  Chou   11  Thomas   4  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (1,415)
Los Angeles, CA
March 20, 2022*
2:00 pm, Live Stream
Air Force
Second Round
W 61–45  16–12
 17  Thomas   7  Dugalić   3  Osborne  Pauley Pavilion (1,050)
Los Angeles, CA
March 24, 2022*
5:30 pm, MW Network
at Wyoming
Third Round
W 82–81 3OT 17–12
 20  Osborne   10  Thomas   5  Osborne  Arena-Auditorium (4,297)
Laramie, WY
March 27, 2022
12:00 pm, Live Stream
at Oregon State
Quarterfinals
W 74–66  18–12
 31  Osborne   10  Osborne   4  Osborne  Gill Coliseum (2,976)
Corvallis, OR
March 31, 2022*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at South Dakota State
Semifinals
L 59–62  18–13
 24  Thomas   6  Horvat   8  Osborne  Frost Arena (5,227)
Brookings, SD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source:[8]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP2020*2019RVRVRVRVNot released
Coaches1414*14^152425RVRVRVRVRVRV

*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.
^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award (PAC-12 Conference) Stats (PPG/RPG/FG%) Week Date awarded Ref.
Natalie Chou Player of the Week 31.0/6.0/68.8 November 29-December 5 December 6, 2021 [9]
Charisma Osborne Player of the Week January 17 – January 23 January 24, 2022
Charisma Osborne Player of the Week February 21 – February 27 February 28, 2022
Charisma Osborne All-Pac-12 team March 1, 2022
IImar'I Thomas All-Pac-12 team March 1, 2022
Charisma Osborne All-Defensive, Honorable Mention March 1, 2022
Izzy Anstey All-Freshman, Honorable Mention March 1, 2022
  • January 5, 2022 – Charisma Osborne named to the mid-season top 25 John R. Wooden Award watch list
  • January 31, 2022 – Charisma Osborne was named to the John R. Wooden Award's late season top 20 watch list
  • February 8, 2022 – Charisma Osborne was selected to the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award top 10 watch list and to the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy midseason team
  • April 4, 2022 – IImar'I Thomas named to the WNIT All-Tournament team

Statistics

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Updated through February 26, 2022
Record UCLA OPP
Scoring 1594 1480
Scoring Average 66.4 61.7
Field Goals - Att 582–1433 509–1305
3-pt. Field Goals - Att 147–437 168–451
Free Throws - Att 283–366 294–410
Rebounds 878 792
Assists 331 298
Turnovers 323 358
Steals 153 162

Notes

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  1. ^ This game was canceled on December 16 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins program. This game was declared a no contest by the NCAA.[4]
  2. ^ This game was canceled on December 18 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins program. This game was declared a no contest by the NCAA.[5]
  3. ^ This game was canceled on December 18 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins program. This game was declared a no contest by the NCAA.[5]
  4. ^ This game was postponed on December 24 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins program.[6]
  5. ^ This game was postponed on January 4 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Utes program.
  6. ^ This game was originally scheduled for January 2, but was postponed on December 24 due to COVID-19 protocols within the UCLA program. On January 19, it was announced that the game was rescheduled for January 26.[6][7]
  7. ^ This game was added on February 8 to make up for the forfeiture earlier this season. This game will only count against the overall record.

References

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  1. ^ "UCLA vs Stanford Box Score". espn.com. March 7, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "UCLA vs Wyoming Box Score". espn.com. March 22, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "UCLA vs Texas Box Score". espn.com. March 24, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  4. ^ "Women's Basketball Game vs. Texas Southern Will Not Be Played as Scheduled". uclabruins.com. December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "UCLA's Games Against Ohio State and Cal State Bakersfield Will Not Be Played as Scheduled". uclabruins.com. December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "UCLA Women's Basketball's Games Against ASU and Arizona Postponed". uclabruins.com. December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "UCLA Reschedules Home Game with Arizona". uclabruins.com. January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "2021-22 Women's Basketball Schedule". uclabruins.com. UCLA Athletics. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "Pac-12 Women's Basketball Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva - Dec. 6, 2021". Pac-12.com. December 6, 2021. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.