Women’s Basketball Announces Non-Conference Schedule
Los Angeles, Calif. – The UCLA Women's Basketball program has announced a three-game non-conference slate for the upcoming 2020-21 season. The Bruins will square off against Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, and UCSB in a shortened non-league schedule.
"Excited to start the season," said The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. "So thankful for the opportunity to compete and play the game we love. Our non-conference short slate of games is really fun because it is comprised of all Southern California teams. They are good teams and we all get a chance to grow the game in Southern California. It might not be in person, but we can all still tune in and support the great journey of these elite athletes and amazing people. We are grateful and excited. Let's get this thing started."
UCLA's first non-conference game of the season will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 25 against Cal State Fullerton at Pauley Pavilion. The Titans went 17-14 last year, including an 8-8 mark in Big West Conference play. Fullerton's top returning scorer is senior guard Taylor Turney, who averaged 14.7 points per game in her first season with the Titans after transferring from San José State. CSUF also returns junior forward Amiee Book, who ranked third on the team with 12.3 points per contest a season ago. The Titans notched a win over CSUN (Mar. 10) – whom the Bruins also defeated last season (Dec. 7) – in the first round of the Big West Tournament before falling to Hawai'i (Mar. 11) to end their season.
The Bruins hit the road for the first time in 2020-21 with a game against Pepperdine on Sunday, Nov. 29, in Malibu. The Waves finished last season with a 16-5 overall record and an 8-10 mark in West Coast Conference play. After losing its last four regular season games, Pepperdine picked up a pair of wins to open the WCC Tournament, taking down Saint Mary's (Mar. 6) and BYU (Mar. 7) before ending the season with a defeat at the hands of San Diego (Mar. 9). The Waves' top returning scorer is Malia Bambrick, a junior guard who put up 10.4 points per game and ranked second on the team in assists with 64 on the year. Pepperdine also returns senior forward Monique Andriuolo, who started 24 games a year ago.
UCLA's final non-conference opponent is UCSB, as the Gauchos will travel to Westwood on Tuesday, Dec. 8. UCSB posted a 14-15 overall record and went 9-7 in Big West Play in 2019-20. The Gauchos enter the season having won five of their final six games last year, including a victory over Hawai'I (Mar. 4) before the Big West Tournament was canceled. The Bruins will need to look out for senior guard Danae Miller, who was selected by the league's coaches to the preseason All-Conference First Team. In 28 games last year, Miller put up 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per contest. UCSB was selected to finish third in the Big West in the preseason coaches poll.
UCLA Women's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 25 – vs. Cal State Fullerton (at UCLA)
Sunday, Nov. 29 – at Pepperdine
Tuesday, Dec. 8 – vs. UCSB (at UCLA)