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Bruins Aim for Regular-Season Sweep of Ducks

Feb 18, 2021
Dominique Darius (photo by Caren Nicdao)

UCLA's Notes | UCLA's Stats

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GAME INFORMATION
No. 8 UCLA (12-3, 10-3) vs. No. 13 Oregon (12-5, 9-5)
Date: Friday, Feb. 19
Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
Watch: Pac-12 Network (Play-by-Play: Anne Marie Anderson, Analyst: Maylana Martin Douglas)
Listen: ucla.leanplayer.com (Play-By-Play: Dave Marcus)

THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP: No. 8 UCLA vs. No. 13 Oregon
The No. 8 Bruins are back at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom to take on No. 13 Oregon. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network. Dave Marcus' radio call can be accessed at ucla.leanplayer.com. UCLA is aiming for a regular-season sweep of the Ducks for the first time since 2015-16. The Bruins downed Oregon, 73-71, in a thriller in Eugene on Jan. 3.

A WIN WOULD...
• Improve the Bruins to 13-3 overall and 11-3 in Pac-12 play, and earn the Bruins their third-straight victory.
• Earn the Bruins their fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season.
• Earn the Bruins at least 11 Pac-12 victories for the sixth-straight season.
• Earn the Bruins a regular-season (multiple-game) sweep of Oregon for the first time since 2015-16.
• Earn Head Coach Cori Close her 20th victory over a top-15 team across her tenure with UCLA.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 8 UCLA 69, Utah 58 (Feb. 12)
Behind a game-high 25 points from Michaela Onyenwere, the No. 8 UCLA women's basketball team defeated Utah, 69-58, in a Friday matinee at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. In a reserve role for the Bruins (12-3, 10-3 Pac-12), Chantel Horvat added 14 points and 12 rebounds for her third-career double-double. Her dozen boards matched a career high. Natalie Chou (12 points) and Charisma Osborne (10) rounded out a quartet of double-digit scorers for UCLA, which held the lead from the game's opening moments.

NOTES ON THE BRUINS
Individual Notes
• Michaela Onyenwere has scored 1,710 points in her UCLA career and is currently tied 11th on UCLA's all-time scoring list. Anita Ortega ('79) is 10th with 1,751 points. Monique Billings ('18) is ninth with 1,761 points.
• Charisma Osborne is second in the Pac-12 with 18.9 points per game.
• Lauryn Miller led the Bruins with six assists in the team's win over Utah (Feb. 12). She has dished out 39 assists through 15 games this season, just seven away from her career high of 46 assists, set over 31 games in 2019-20.
• Michaela Onyenwere is second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and is fourth in scoring (17.4). She is the only player in the Conference in the top 5 in both categories.
• Charisma Osborne leads the Pac-12 in three-point field goals per game (2.8).
• Lindsey Corsaro has registered at least three assists in 12 games this season. She leads the Pac-12 in assist/turnover ratio at 2.87.
• Natalie Chou has scored in double figures in six of her last seven games.
Team Notes
• UCLA enters Friday's game at No. 8 in the most recent AP Poll. It is the 33rd-consecutive week the team has been ranked in the top 11.
• 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's second top-10 road victory this season came against then-No. 5 Stanford (Jan. 22).
• UCLA is the only team with multiple players (Osborne, 2nd - 18.9 ppg, Onyenwere, 4th - 17.4) among the Pac-12's top 5 scorers.
• UCLA is 12th in the country and leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game (16.3).
• The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in turnovers forced (18.3) and fewest turnovers committed (11.9).

CORI CLOSE: NAISMITH COACH OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE
The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close has been named to the late season watch list for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday. Close has led the Bruins to a 12-3 overall record and 10-3 mark in Pac-12 play this season. It's the Bruins' sixth-straight season with at least 10 wins in Conference play. Among UCLA's victories this season are three wins against ranked opponents, including a road 73-71 victory over then-No. 7 Oregon that snapped the Ducks' 27-game winning-streak (Jan. 3). The win over Oregon also extended the Bruins' streak of defeating a top-10 opponent in each of the last six years. Close also led UCLA to a victory over then-No. 5 Stanford, knocking off the Cardinal, 70-66, in Santa Cruz, Calif.

ONYENWERE: SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Senior forward Michaela Onyenwere has been named a candidate for the 2020-21 Senior CLASS Award, the award announced Monday (Feb. 8). The candidates selected are those who excel both on and off the court, and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition. Off the court, Onyenwere has had a tremendous impact on UCLA Women's Basketball's social justice efforts this season, as she helped establish the team's More Than a D.R.E.A.M. initiative in response to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Onyenwere's on-court accomplishments are extensive, to say the least, as she has become one of the all-time greats to play at UCLA.

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 on 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. She has appeared in eight games for the Bruins this season.

AP POLL PROMINENCE
The Bruins earned the No. 8 ranking in the Associated Press (AP) Poll. The Bruins are one of four Pac-12 teams that cracked the top 25 on the Feb. 8 edition of the poll, with Stanford (No. 6), Arizona (No. 10), and Oregon (No. 13) also joining the list. UCLA has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 36 straight weeks and has secured a top-11 ranking in each of the last 33 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 9.0 points per game this season and has scored in double figures in six games this season.

WATCH LIST RECOGNITION
Senior forward Michaela Onyenwere and sophomore guard Charisma Osborne have been named to several preseason 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, Wooden Award (most outstanding player)Naismith Trophy Midseason List (collegiate player of the year), 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), Naismith Trophy Midseason list.