UCLA prepares for next step after dream season ends in the Final Four

The Bruins were off their game from the very start. UCLA committed 14 turnovers in the first half that resulted in 19 points for UConn while the Huskies recorded only three turnovers.

“I think the turnovers is really what killed us in the first half just because we didn’t have shot attempts,” junior guard Kiki Rice told media after the loss. “We’ve always talked about this year we need the ball to score. And when we have the ball and we take care of the ball we’re a really good team.

“But I think it was difficult for us to get in rhythm both offensively and defensively when we’re continuously turning the ball over. And they’re a great defensive team. But we just had to be stronger and tougher in those moments and just smarter.”

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As good as UConn’s defense was and is, the Bruins felt much of the onus was on the way they showed up to start the game.

“I think they were just tougher in the beginning. I mean, I think that’s the only way I can put it. I think they just played more together,” junior center Lauren Betts said. “I think as a team we talked about it in the timeout, just defensively just coming out with a lot more aggression, and making it harder on them. I feel we just let them do whatever they wanted out there, from the very beginning.”

Rice expanded, “I think in a way we were kind of looking for things to just settle in and for things to come to us. And I think we needed to go out and take the game and to go make plays, not have plays happen to us.”

The Bruins’ floor general, Rice felt like a lot of the turnovers were self-inflicted. They had played against a wide variety of defenses throughout the season and found ways to overcome similar systems, only losing twice before Friday, both times to USC. Rice pointed to a lack of connection between both passers and receivers in terms of communication as well as the physical action of either coming to the ball or making crisp passes.

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This was just one of the more technical points Rice made to her team during the game. She also continuously tried to settle her teammates down and get them to enjoy the moment and play freely knowing they had prepared for this moment. But the team still struggled throughout the game to take care of the ball and make the right reads.

“I think it’s hard when we haven’t been in this moment,” Rice said. “I still think that we’re obviously a much better team than what we showed today. I think we’ve showed that in 30-plus games throughout the entire year.”

Head coach Cori Close also recognized the role that experience likely played in the loss. She had tried to talk to various people who had experienced the Final Four to gain some wisdom on how best to handle it but found that in the end you just have to experience it.

“I’ve heard it from so many people, that until you go through it, it’s a different level of compartmentalization, all the things that are surrounding it, and trying to be ready to play your very best basketball in a way you haven’t probably prepared like this all year long,” Close said.

For that reason Close thinks it is important to give credit to UConn for how well they played but also hold her team to the standards she knows they are capable of.

“They played really, really well. They’re a really good team. They earned that win,” Close said. “And we could have given them a better game. We could have executed our game plan better. We could have played with better toughness and togetherness. We say it all the time: Most of the time the tougher, more together team wins. That wasn’t us.”

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The key for UCLA going forward is learning from the experience.

“Definitely I’ll be a better leader next time I’m in this situation. It’s my responsibility to learn from this and to help us win,” Close said. “ I do think, you know, experience is such a powerful teacher, if you allow it to. I use this quote I got from Tony Bennett a long time ago … Adversity, if used correctly, can buy you a ticket to a place that maybe you wouldn’t have gone otherwise. I think in other areas we have really done that. This is our next area.

“We got exposed. We got out-toughed. We got our butts beat today. And it stings right now. And may the pain of that regret and this loss buy us a ticket, if handled well, buy us a ticket to be better the next time hopefully we get this opportunity.”

The lesson Rice will take away from this loss is that they need to continue to build their toughness.

“I think that’s an area where we improved a lot in the past offseason,” Rice said. “And we’ll get better individually, skill-wise, and collectively, and the sets we run and all that kind of stuff. And I think at this stage it really comes down to just executing small things and being a tougher, more together team. And having this experience will show us that we need to be ready when we come to play these games. I think that will help us all going forward.”

Betts added that they need to continue to work on their sense of urgency and competitiveness. 

“I think we kind of lacked that a little bit today,” Betts said. “Just recognizing that this is the Final Four and our season is on the line. So we really need to recognize the moment that we’re in and play like it. We need everybody to show up that way.”

UCLA will benefit from the fact that they will likely return most, if not all, of their roster next season. Close said there are no seniors on the team this season, or at least no one who is out of eligibility, so everyone who was a part of this historic season and disappointing loss will have lessons to carry forward. 

“Just taking this sadness and anger and making sure that next year, preparing for this next season, making sure we’re holding the standard from the very beginning and not letting up,” Betts said. “And just making sure that everyone’s on the same page because obviously we know what it takes, obviously, at this point we saw.”

With the transfer portal there is of course no guarantee of keeping the entire roster but they will definitely be adding the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2025, Lauren Betts’ sister, 6’4 Sienna Betts. Adding yet another incredibly talented weapon to an already deep Bruins roster.

While allowing the sting of the loss to fuel them, the Bruins will also try to not allow this loss to overshadow the incredible season that they had. This team led UCLA to its first Final Four in NCAA Tournament history (the last time they made it as far, women’s basketball was not controlled by the NCAA and was instead organized by the AIAW), won the Big Ten Championship and won 34 games while only losing three.

“It obviously sucks right now, but I’ll do my best and we’ll do our best to not forget what a fantastic year this was. So many firsts in program history,” Rice said. “I think we all put in so much work to get to this point — coaches, players, the entire support staff. And we’ll remember that. And our last year will fuel us because we have a lot going forward for us. But I think, at the end of the day, we lost three games this entire year. And it sucks right now. But I think looking back we’ll be very grateful for the year we had.”

The season may have ended in disappointing fashion, but it does not erase the accomplishments of the past year. It only adds more fuel to the fire.

“We’re trying to create our own legacy,” Betts said. “I think this team is one of the greatest teams to ever compete at this level. And I think that we’re trying to kind of just create our own path. So to be honest right now I’m just worried about these girls that we have on this team and what we’re going to do, because I know next year we’re going to learn from this and come back even better.”