Cori Close was already planning how the Bruins would celebrate ahead of their top-six game against the Huskies.
“We had said in advance, ‘When we win there will be no dancing around,’” said the UCLA women’s basketball’s coach. “If we feel the need to do that, we really didn’t expect to win. And we expect to win.”
But a week after the statement win over Connecticut, Close had a different message for her team ahead of its first true road game of the season.
“You haven’t arrived yet,” she said. “We haven’t beaten anyone on the road in a true road environment.
No. 2 UCLA (6-0) will play its first road game of the season when it takes on Arkansas (7-1) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Sunday. The Bruins are coming off of a 2-0 showing in the Cayman Islands Classic that included UCLA’s first-ever win over then-No. 6 Connecticut.
Close said alerts on her phone following the ranked win inspired an intense week of practice.
“I got to my phone, and I had 230 text messages a half an hour later,” Close said. “So I can only imagine what they’re (the players) hearing and the messaging they’re hearing. And so you can ask them – they would tell you that I have not been very fun to play for this week.”
The preparation comes ahead of the Bruins’ matchup against another team coming off of a statement win.
On Thursday, Arkansas handily defeated then-No. 15 Florida State 71-58 on the road. The Razorbacks’ win came after Arkansas suffered its first loss of the season in a 74-58 blowout against Marquette.
In addition to it being the first away contest of the season, UCLA’s trip to Fayetteville will be the team’s first road game against an SEC opponent since its pair of defeats against South Carolina last season.
Sophomore forward Christeen Iwuala said those Southern environments have made the upcoming road game an exciting challenge.
“Playing against South Carolina last year, they were the No. 1 team in the country, and they had a fan base that I would say is almost the same level,” Iwuala said. “So being able to just play against so many people and people who have such great arenas that would prepare us to be able to play on these stages, wherever they may be, is awesome.”
Since Iwuala and the rest of UCLA’s No. 1 recruiting class arrived in 2022, the Bruins have had far more success at home than on the road.
In the 2022-23 season, UCLA recorded a 15-3 campaign at Pauley Pavilion compared to 6-5 on the road.
But the home-road splits have preceded that class.
The Bruins are a combined 37-9 at home since the beginning of the 2020-21 season. In that same stretch, they are 17-12 on the road.
One player who has been in Westwood for all of those seasons, graduate student guard Camryn Brown, said both nonconference and Pac-12 road games have prepared the team for the upcoming Arkansas test.
“Those are my favorite environments in the world to play in, and nothing’s better than going into a hostile environment and being the villain,” Brown said. “The Pac-12 combined with the South Carolina games – they have all been really good teachers of how to handle those environments.”
After what Close called a “program-defining” win against Connecticut, she is anticipating another test Sunday.
“We’re going to go in, and there’s going to be 9,000 people,” Close said. “You better put your big girl panties on and get ready to get tougher.”
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