This post was updated Nov. 5 at 12:25 a.m.
“I believe in the UCLA Bruins.”
The cheer – although from a single fan – bellowed through Honda Center, a venue loaded with fans decked in blue and gold despite its Anaheim location 48 miles from Westwood.
The exclamation was met with laughter – and for good reason.
The Bruin faithful had made the two-hour drive in traffic to watch No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (1-0) defeat San Diego State (0-1) 77-53 Monday night. Only four of the 10 Bruins who saw playing time against the Aztecs logged minutes under coach Cori Close last year, with graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker’s first time donning the blue and gold headlining the new additions.
“I’ve had so much fun finally being out on the court with them and working my way back into the game,” Leger-Walker said. “But again, I try not to focus on my own game too much, being in a point guard position, facilitating, really trying to get my teammates involved.”
The Washington State transfer, who redshirted last season for UCLA because of an ACL injury, went 5-for-9 on field goal attempts and knocked down one of the team’s two 3-pointers in the first half. And in the last two quarters of the game, she tacked on another.
Leger-Walker’s impact wasn’t limited to her shot-making. The Waikato, New Zealand, local logged five assists, with senior guards Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez each adding five of their own.
When the Bruins walked over to the bench before tipoff, Jaquez was there to shoulder bump every single one of her teammates. And the Camarillo, California, local carried that energy through the game, posting 15 points and 11 rebounds – good for a double-double.
“I want to get those rebounds,” Jaquez said. “It’s fun for me to go crash and things like that. And if I’m really setting the tone like that, I want the team to follow as well.”
The Bruins opened the game with an 8-0 start, sparked by graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens, who drove to the basket and was rewarded with the team’s first two points off a layup – her first since transferring from Utah last spring.
UCLA closed the first quarter with just a three-point advantage, despite the early lead.
“We have statistics that we track outside of the normal sets, and we call them passion plays, and we didn’t hit those goals that we set for ourselves,” Leger-Walker said. “When we don’t do that, you can really tell that it transfers over into the game.”
But a 12-9 advantage widened to 37-22 by halftime, with senior center Lauren Betts – who led the Bruins in scoring with 20.2 points per game last year – paving the way with her interior dominance.
Lauren Betts, whose jersey now reads “L. Betts” awaiting the Bruin debut of her younger sister freshman forward Sienna Betts, frequently battled through double teams to post a team-high 21 points. Standing at 6-foot-7, Betts outmatched every Aztec player by at least three inches.
Sienna Betts watched on from the sidelines with a boot on her left foot. Close has not announced when the No. 2 recruit from the class of 2025 will return to play but said that the lower leg injury is not season-ending.
Absent from the starting lineup was Rice, with Close opting for Leger-Walker instead. But the senior’s impact was far from minimal.
“She (Rice) had a minute restriction, a big minute restriction just a week ago, and so really it’s just a matter of her coming back,” Close said. “And this was the first day she was completely cleared, just from our staff situation. So I felt it was appropriate that we let her come along in that fashion.”
When Rice hit her – and the Bruins’ – first 3-pointer of the night four minutes into the second quarter, the Anaheim crowd erupted in celebration.
After posting just two 3-pointers in the first half, UCLA increased its offensive production in the second half, tacking on another five from beyond the arc. Freshman guard/forward Lena Bilić was good for one of the seven 3-pointers in her Bruin debut.
UCLA’s offensive versatility was on full display, with four players breaching double-digit points. But on the other side of the ball, the Bruins proved the defensive focus Close had been preaching in practice the week leading up to the game yielded mixed results.
[Related: UCLA women’s basketball 2025-26 roster breakdown]
UCLA nabbed 34 defensive rebounds and limited the Aztecs’ driving lanes, forcing tougher shots on the perimeter. San Diego State was able to sink 10 3-pointers off a 40% clip, including three from guard Kaelyn Hamilton.
“The level of excellence and focus and effort and relentlessness and teamwork and execution was not there,” Close said. “We need to have a sense of humility, coming back on Wednesday, getting ready for UCSB at home. That is not the standard in which we have set for ourselves.”
