UCLA Set to Host No. 10/13 Texas in Home Opener on Sunday

by uclabruins.com
Nov 21, 2014

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LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women’s basketball team hosts No. 10/13 Texas in its home opener on Sunday, Nov. 23 in Pauley Pavilion. Tip-off is slated for 1:05 p.m. (PT) and the game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Arena Capacity: 13,800
Date: Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014
Time: 1:05 p.m. (PT)
Television: Pac-12 Networks
Talent: Jim Watson (play-by-play), Rosalyn Gold-Onwude (analyst)
Internet Audio: www.uclabruins.com
Talent: Dave Marcus (play-by-play)

UCLA MENTOR
Head Coach Cori Close is in her fourth year with the Bruins and guided UCLA to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a Pac-12 Tournament runner-up finish in 2012-13. She sports an overall record of 53-44 (.546).

TEXAS SERIES HISTORY
This is just the 11th meeting between the Bruins and the Texas Longhorns with UCLA leading the series 6-4. Alyssia Brewer had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 17 UCLA held No. 12 Texas to 24 percent shooting en route to a 62-42 victory on Dec. 8, 2012 in the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Showcase at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. UCLA’s defense held Texas to a season-low 42 points, a season-low 23.8 percent shooting and forced a season-high 29 turnovers by the Longhorns. Defensively, those figures were also season-bests for UCLA. The Bruins also won the last meeting in Los Angeles, 63-60, on Nov. 28, 2004. Noelle Quinn led all scorers with 27 points as the Bruins upset then No. 4 Texas. Quinn scored the eventual game-winning basket with 16.7 seconds left. Nikki Blue added 13 points for UCLA. Texas was led by Tiffany Jackson’s 19 points and career-best 15 rebounds. Jamie Carey added 15 points, and Annissa Hastings had 11 for the Longhorns.

McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICANS
The UCLA women’s basketball team enters the 2014-15 season with a renewed optimism having signed the program’s first-ever No. 1 recruiting class in the country, featuring three McDonald’s All-Americans (Recee' Caldwell, Jordin Canada and Lajahna Drummer) and five newcomers all ranked in the Top 30 in the country (Kelli Hayesand Monique Billings are the other two standouts in the class). The three incoming McDonald’s selections will join another McDonald’s All-American, junior guard Nirra Fields, giving the Bruins four on the court for the first time in program history.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
UCLA was ranked No. 23 in both pre-season polls (AP and USA Today) but is no longer receiving votes in the coaches poll but received eight votes in the AP Poll. The Bruins' 2014-15 schedule is loaded with nationally-ranked teams as a total of eight of them were in the pre-season Top 25 with another three programs receiving votes. The Bruins have four on the schedule that are ranked in the Top 10. Connecticut is No. 1/4, Notre Dame is at No. 3/2, Stanford is currently ranked No. 6/1 while Texas stands at No. 10/13. Also on the Bruins' schedule is No. 11 North Carolina, No. 14 California, No. 16/15 Nebraska, No. 20/21 Oregon State and now No. 23 James Madison. Three other teams on the Bruins' schedule (Oregon, Arizona State and Washington State) are receiving votes.

ON THE TUBE
The UCLA Bruins will be making a total of 19 television appearances (18 on the Pac-12 Networks and one on ESPN2) during the 2014-15 regular season. That is up one from the 2013-14 season. The Bruins had 14 in 2012-13 and just four during the 2011-12 campaign. Again this year, UCLA will have the distinction of having the first televised conference game when they travel to USC on Dec. 30, 2014 (6:00 p.m.).

PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
UCLA was selected to finish fourth in the Pac-12 conference’s preseason coaches and media polls.

OTHER RANKINGS
The Sporting News ranked UCLA at No. 5 in the country in its preseason college basketball magazine and collegsportsmadness.com has the Bruins in at No. 11 to start the season.

2014-15 SEASON TICKETS
Women’s basketball season tickets are on sale at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310-UCLA-WIN). For more ticket information, or to buy tickets now, click here.