Bruins Return Home for Matchup with ASU

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GAME INFORMATION
No. 5 UCLA (9-2, 7-2) at Arizona State (8-4, 4-4)
Date: Friday, Jan. 29
Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
Watch: Pac-12 Network (Brian Webber, Monique Billings)
Listen: ucla.leanplayer.com (Play-By-Play: Dave Marcus)

THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP: No. 5 UCLA vs. Arizona State
UCLA is back in action on Friday, Jan. 29 with a matchup against Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. UCLA won its 10th-straight game over ASU earlier in the season, defeating the Sun Devils, 63-59, in Tempe on Dec. 6. Pac-12 Network will broadcast the live action while Dave Marcus' radio commentary can be heard at ucla.leanplayer.com.

A WIN WOULD...
• Improve the Bruins to 10-2 overall and 8-2 in Pac-12 play, and earn the Bruins fifth victory.
• Extend UCLA's winning streak over the Sun Devils to 11 games, dating back to February 2016.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 6 UCLA 70, No. 5 Stanford 66 (Jan. 22)
Charisma Osborne scored a game-high 24 points as the No. 6 UCLA women's basketball team edged No. 5 Stanford, 70-66, Friday evening at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Osborne broke the 20-point plateau for the fourth game in a row and converted the go-ahead free throws down the stretch for the Bruins, who improved to 9-2 (7-2 in Pac-12 play). Michaela Onyenwere posted her fifth double-double of the season – and third in four games – scoring 16 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds. Osborne added nine boards of her own. Natalie Chou (12 points) and Emily Bessoir (11) also scored in double figures for UCLA.

PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CHARISMA OSBORNE
Charisma Osborne has earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors, the Conference office announced Monday.
Osborne put up 24 points in UCLA's victory over then-No. 5 Stanford on Friday, Jan. 22. Her free throws late in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winning points in the contest, as she broke the 66-66 deadlock with 1:23 to play. The sophomore knocked down three three-pointers en route to her fourth-straight 20+ point performance on the year. The Moreno Valley, Calif., native was also strong on the glass, grabbing a season-high nine rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. She picked up the offensive rebound off Michaela Onyenwere's free throw miss with seven second seconds left in the fourth quarter, and she would go on to run out the clock and ensure UCLA's victory. She also tied a season-high with three steals.

NOTES ON THE BRUINS
Individual Notes
• Michaela Onyenwere has scored 1,631 points in her UCLA career and is currently 14th on the program's all-time scoring list. Lisa Willis ('06) is 13th with 1,677 points. Ann Meyers Drysdale ('78) is 12th with 1,685 points.
• Charisma Osborne scored notched her seventh-career 20-point game with 28 against WSU (Jan. 17), including 11 of UCLA's 13 points in overtime.
• Michaela Onyenwere notched her 28th-career double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds against Washington State (Jan. 17).
• Natalie Chou scored a career-high 28 points on a career-high 11 made field goals against Utah (Jan. 10).
• Michaela Onyenwere is third in the Pac-12 in scoring (18.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (9.1). She is the only player in the Conference in the top 5 in both categories.
• Charisma Osborne leads the Pac-12 in three-pointers made (41).
• Lindsey Corsaro leads the Pac-12 in Assist/Turnover ratio at 2.90.

Team Notes
• UCLA enters Sunday's game at No. 6 in the AP Poll, the team's highest ranking since checking in at No. 5 in Nov. 2017.
• With the team's win over then-No. 8 Oregon (Jan. 3), the Bruins have now recorded a victory over a top-10 opponent in each of the last six seasons.
• UCLA is the only team with multiple players (Onyenwere, 3rd - 18.2 ppg, Osborne, 4th - 18.1) among the Pac-12's top 5 scorers.
• UCLA is the only team with multiple Pac-12 POW honorees (Chou - Jan. 11, Onyenwere - Jan. 4, Osborne - Nov. 30).
• UCLA is 13th in the country and leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game (16.8).
• The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in fewest turnovers per game (11.3), good for seventh in the country.
• UCLA is second in the Conference in most turnovers forced with 18.4 per contest.

WELCOME TO WESTWOOD, DOMINIQUE DARIUS
High school senior Dominique Darius has enrolled early at UCLA and has joined the women's basketball team's active roster, the team announced Monday (Dec. 28). The Jacksonville, Fla., native is ranked 26th on ESPN's 2021 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. She arrives in Westwood by way of Blair Academy (NJ), where she helped lead the Buccaneers to an NJISAA State title in 2020. As a junior, Darius put up 15.8 points per game in Blair's 26-5 campaign.

AP POLL PROMINENCE
The Bruins earned the No. 5 ranking in the most recent Associated Press (AP) Poll. It is the highest AP ranking for the program since the team was also ranked fifth in November 2017. The Bruins are one of four Pac-12 teams that cracked the top 25 on the Nov. 30 edition of the poll, with Stanford (No. 6), Arizona (No. 10), and Oregon (No. 11) also joining the list. UCLA has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 33 straight weeks and has secured a top-11 ranking in each of the last 30 weeks.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
UCLA freshman Emily Bessoir has already made a huge impact in her brief time with the program thus far. At 6'4", she is the tallest player on the Bruins' active roster and has a commanding presence in the post. That said, she has strong ball-handling skills and can lead a fastbreak for the Bruins off a rebound. Bessoir was named to ESPN's Newcomer Impact Rankings for the upcoming season. The Munich, Germany, native is averaging 8.5 points per game this season and has scored in double figures four times this season.

WATCH LIST RECOGNITION
Senior forward Michaela Onyenwere and sophomore guard Charisma Osborne have been named to several watch lists for various national awards. Both players were also named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team.
• Onyenwere: Preseason AP All-American, Preseason All-Pac-12, Naismith Trophy Watch List (collegiate player of the year), Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List (most outstanding player), Cheryl Miller Award Watch List (nation's best small forward)
• Osborne: Preseason All-Pac-12, Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List (nation's best shooting guard)