Everything UCLA WBB head coach Cori Close said after win over South Carolina

UCLA head women’s basketball coach Cori Close spoke to the media following the team’s 77-62 win over South Carolina on Sunday. Here’s everything she had to say.

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Opening statement

“This game is about our program and where we’re going, but also about the game of basketball. I just think what we saw from over the whole weekend is so important to continue to grow our game, and thank you all for being here to help us do that.

“I’ve played against South Carolina several times – and I meaning we, the Bruins – and this means a lot because Dawn Staley has set the tone of what women’s basketball excellence should be over the last several years. I just have so much respect for her, for her staff for the way they have a global view of the game. So this, obviously, means a lot because of the respect we have.

“That being said, we expected to win. We have a phrase in our program – that it begins before it begins, that you’ve got to do the work to prepare, and it starts way before the tip happens. And there just was never a doubt. We prepared like we expected to win. You can hope and wish all you want, but if you don’t prepare at a level that equips you, (it) doesn’t do any good. And I’m really proud of the commitment to preparation we made.

“Lastly, I thought Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez were so huge for us – (and) their selflessness. We say all the time that we have eight starters right now, and that, in any given day, those things are going to rotate – that’s my job. But, man, to have your mindset ready, to say, ‘Whatever the team needs from me, I will deliver – that’s what Londynn Jones and Gabriella Jaquez really gave us today.

“I told Lauren (Betts) right before we were on TV – I said, ‘Lauren, look at what we did.’ And this was not her best night – but it was her best neutral-thinking night. She had what we call ‘next-play speed.’ And if she hadn’t have done that work mentally to be there for us – every scouting report starts and ends with her – and if she didn’t have that stability mentally, we wouldn’t be sitting at this table feeling the way that we do.”

On what Close liked most from UCLA’s play in the first half

“I think the number one thing I did is we forced them into difficult shots. We didn’t rebound as well as I wanted us to, but I thought they were taking really hard first shots. Pretty much throughout, we followed the scouting report, according to personnel, really really well. I thought they were taking shots that they didn’t want to have to take on a pretty consistent basis.”

On UCLA’s performance on defense

“I thought that was everything, right? I think the two things were going to be transition (defense). They score about 27% of their baskets in transition, so the best thing you can do is not have live-ball turnovers. We had 16 turnovers but, they were mostly dead-ball turnovers. So, that made a huge difference because they never got. in a rhythm in transition. When you automatically take away almost 30% of another team’s offense, we knew that, if we could force them into running half-court offense, we’d have a really good chance. So, that was really the key – us taking care of the ball and taking decent shots so that, then, we could set our defense and go from there.

[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Duke WBB game]

“They’re a great team. And I reminded TV it’s Nov. 24. Am I proud of our team? Yes. But this is just the beginning, and we ust can’t get tired of doing things right.”

On what makes UCLA being a No. 1-ranked South Carolina team so special

“(It was) work ethic and selflessness. We, obviously, have a lot of tools. We have a lot of great versatile players. I loved, at different moments, people making really big plays. I thought Janiah Barker also, in the first half, was so big for us. Everyone had a moment, and I think that we are really versatile, and we’ve got a lot of weapons. But they wouldn’t do much – we wouldn’t have this – if we didn’t have selflessness and elite work ethic. This is my 32nd season in Division I coaching, and I’ve never had a team that works extra more than this team.”

On the decision to start both Kiki Rice and Elina Aarnisalo against South Carolina

“I just think every game is going to be a little bit different. I thought (Elina Aarnisalo) was very pivotal. There’s a point – I think, in the second quarter – where she just was commanding the pick and roll you. She got to the cup; then, she had the three; then, she made a great pass that led to an assist. E is mature beyond her years. The last two games, I think she’s had 20 assists and one turnover and I thought gotten our our offense in a rhythm. So, it’s just a a choice that I made.

“Kiki Rice – every day is going to be a little bit different, and I thought that her experience was really important to us. Lauren always calls her a rock, and she just does a really good job getting us settled. She has a sense she’s very calm.

“I think the great thing about this team is I tell them every day, ‘Hold starting really loosely.’ Really, I could care less who starts – it’s just a matter of, ‘Who do I think is going to help us have the best start? And then, let’s see who’s playing well; and then, they try to move the pieces from there. I’m not always going to get it right, but that was the decision I made. And I just think everybody’s got to stay selfless. It’s not really who starts the game – it’s just a matter of whatever we got to do to help each other.”

On whether UCLA has done enough to be the new No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll

“I don’t care – I really don’t. I don’t mean to be boring, but I really don’t care who’s ranked what and at what point – I just want us to learn the lessons that this game taught us. And I want to fall more in love with the process of what it takes to become great. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”

“But I definitely think – I watched that entire game (between Southern California and Notre Dame). I got to tell you, Notre Dame looked really good. But what a great thing – I think we have a lot of teams that can make a really good sort of case for how to be number one. And I think that’s a great testament to our game. There’s a lot more parody than there used to be.”

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On Jones’ three-point shooting

“Shoutout her commitment, and shoutout to (assistant) coach Tasha (Brown). Coach Tasha meets her every morning and a bunch of our other support staff. She’s chosen to buy into that, and Coach Tasha has led her really well in that.”

On allowing other UCLA players to step up, despite South Carolina’s game plan to shut down Betts

“I thought it started, really, with DZ. I thought she made some great cuts away from the ball. She saw that we were looking – we really trying to hit Lauren in the middle of the floor so that it was harder to double team. And then, her player kept sinking in. I thought her timing on her lift cuts – I know that sounds like a really minor thing, but that’s the difference, the inches of, like, ‘Okay, are we making a turnover, or are we getting a three?

“We’ve been working at this. Every single game, the first five minutes, I talk to our staff about, ‘Okay, how are they playing Lauren? What’s the adjustment we need to make? Because every team’s doing it a little bit different. They really tried to front Lauren and try to deny touches more so than anyone else has at this point um. I think that’ll force us to grow a little bit in that area as we look at this film.

“Our team is – this is like a broken record, and they roll their eyes every time I say it – but sometimes you, sometimes me, always us. And be prepared for your number being called. I think the reality is is that London and others were prepared. I think it was really pivotal that we didn’t try to force it in.”

On whether UCLA has been underrated this year

“Lauren said on TV that, ‘We were underrated. If you were sleeping on us, you better stop.’ But, honestly, I’m like, ‘Sleep away, sleep away.’ I think teams that fall in love with what other people define them as, they lose opportunities to get better. And I think, for me, I’m like, ‘Put your phones. Define the next right step.’

“I want them to enjoy this. This is a tremendous accomplishment – I’m not downplaying it. But I’m also putting it in proper context. That, ‘Is this what you came here to do? Just this one?’ And have fun with it, but let it just inform your next choice.”

Closing statement

“I just really want to thank everybody for being here – it’s such a important thing for us. I also want to thank the administration, the support staff, marketing team – everybody that works so hard behind the scenes. We were in here at shoot-around at 8 a.m., and the support staff is putting pom-poms on over 13,000 seats. All the work that goes into ticketing and all the things that go into that – I just think it’s really, really important that this is a program win. But this is a UCLA win. And I just want to say thank you for the opportunity that everyone creates, from the media, to all the support staff, to all the investment that goes into having us be able to have an experience like this. I humbly say, ‘Thank you.'”

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