The last time the Bruins opened their regular season against a Power Five opponent was 10 years ago.
UCLA lost to Nebraska by 28 points, jumpstarting an underwhelming 13-18 campaign in 2013-2014.
A decade later, the Bruins are set to open their season against a Big Ten opponent once again. But this time around, the matchup is one year away from being a conference game.
No. 4 UCLA women’s basketball will open its season against Purdue on Monday evening. The matchup with the Boilermakers signifies the beginning of the Bruins’ final Pac-12 season, starting with a game against a team from their future conference.
“It’s a preview, of sort, of what’s to come,” said coach Cori Close. “It’s going to demand that we’re at a really high level right off the bat. We have a lot of respect for Purdue.”
The Boilermakers will arrive in Westwood on Monday after having one of their best campaigns in recent memory.
Last year, Purdue made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2016-2017 season after finishing the regular season 18-9. The team also went 9-8 in the Big Ten, securing its first winning record in conference play since the 2017-2018 season.
Close said the Boilermakers’ reliance on interior scoring and defense is similar to the prototypical Big Ten team, but the conference possesses versatility that intrigues her for the future.
“In the Big Ten there’s a wide variety,” Close said. “That’s why I’m so excited to be apart of it, … that by the time you’re playing in the Big Ten, you’re going to be prepared for the NCAA Tournament.”
As for the Bruins’ style of play, Close said her team’s identity is a work in progress heading into the season opener.
Eight of the 12 players on UCLA’s roster are at least 6 feet tall, including seven standing at 6 feet 2 inches, or taller. As a result, senior forwards Angela Dugalić and Emily Bessoir – each standing at 6 feet 4 inches – have spent time playing on the perimeter this offseason.
“Emily and I are both very versatile,” Dugalić said. “Especially with both of us in, we’re hard to guard. We can go inside and post up, we can shoot a jumper, we can shoot a 3.”
The Bruins’ height is now headlined by 6-foot-7-inch center Lauren Betts after the sophomore and former No. 1 recruit transferred from Stanford this offseason. Betts stands three inches taller than the team’s next-tallest players.
With the addition of Betts, the return of three-time All-Pac-12 graduate student guard Charisma Osborne and a year of experience under the belt of its No. 1 recruiting class from last year, UCLA is ranked in the top five of the preseason Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since the 1978-1979 season.
Despite the high ranking, sophomore guard Londynn Jones said the team is not concerned with the level of national recognition it is receiving.
“We try not to really worry about the rankings,” Jones said. “I mean, if we were to rank ourselves, we would rank ourselves one, so I don’t think paying attention to the rankings would do anything for us. I just know that we’ve been working extremely hard.”
The Bruins have not won a Pac-12 regular season title in the 21st century.
While conference play does not begin for over a month, they’ll experience something similar Monday night against a Big Ten foe.
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