No. 10 Women's Basketball Caps Regular Season Against USC

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GAME INFORMATION
No. 10 UCLA (13-4, 11-4) vs. USC (10-10, 8-9)
Date: Friday, Feb. 26
Time: 5:00 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
Watch: UCLA Live Stream (pac-12.com/live/ucla)
Listen: ucla.leanplayer.com (Play-By-Play: Dave Marcus)

THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP: No. 10 UCLA vs. USC
UCLA is set to finish up its regular season schedule with a matchup against USC on Sunday, Feb. 28 at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The live action will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks. Dave Marcus' radio call can be accessed at ucla.leanplayer.com. The Bruins are gunning for a regular-season sweep of the Trojans, as UCLA notched a convincing 73-52 victory at Galen Center on Dec. 13.
 
A WIN WOULD...
• Improve the Bruins to 13-4 overall and 12-4 in Pac-12 play.
• Earn the Bruins their third-straight win over USC and first regular-season sweep of the Trojans since 2017-18.
• Earn the Bruins at least 12 Pac-12 victories for the sixth-straight season.

LAST TIME OUT: No. 8 UCLA 64, Oregon State 71 (Feb. 21)
Michaela Onyenwere scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds, but it was not enough, as the No. 8 UCLA women's basketball team dropped a 71-64 decision to Oregon State Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Lauryn Miller registered her second double-digit scoring game in a row for the Bruins (13-4, 11-4 Pac-12). UCLA's 17 free throws without a miss set a school record, but it converted just 21 of 76 (27.6%) shots from the field. The Beavers (8-6, 6-6) outscored the Bruins by a 20-12 margin in the fourth quarter. Aleah Goodman tallied seven of her team-high 20 points in the final frame. Taylor Jones posted 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

NOTES ON THE BRUINS
Individual Notes
• Michaela Onyenwere has scored 1,746 points in her UCLA career and is 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 third in the Pac-12 with 18.1 points per game.
• Lauryn Miller has dished out 43 assists through 17 games this season, just three away from tying her career high of 46 assists, set over 31 games in 2019-20.
• Michaela Onyenwere is third in the Pac-12 in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and fourth in scoring (17.5). She is the only player in the Conference in the top five in both categories.
• Charisma Osborne is second in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals per game (2.6).
• Lindsey Corsaro has registered at least three assists in her last five games and in 14 games overall this season. She leads the Pac- 12 in assist/turnover ratio at 2.83.
Team Notes
• The Bruins' victory over No. 13 Oregon (Feb. 19) was the team's fourth-straight win over a ranked opponent this season.
• UCLA's 83-56 defeat over No. 13 Oregon (Feb. 19) was the Ducks' worst loss since their 90-52 defeat to UConn on Mar. 27, 2017 in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bruins shot 17-for-17 from the free throw line against Oregon State (Feb. 21), good for the most made free throws in a game without a miss in team history.
• UCLA is the only team with multiple players (Osborne, 3rd - 18.1 ppg, Onyenwere, 4th - 17.5) among the Pac-12's top five scorers.
• UCLA is 11th in the country and leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game (16.5). The Bruins have recorded at least 15 offensive rebounds in three-straight games and in 15 games overall.
• The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in turnovers forced (18.1) and fewest turnovers committed (12.1).

SENIOR SALUTE: CORSARO, MILLER, ONYENWERE
The Bruins are set to honor three seniors on Friday at Pauley: Lindsey Corsaro, Lauryn Miller, and Michaela Onyenwere.

Corsaro is set to finish her fifth season with the program as she has persevered through medical hardships in her first two years at UCLA. She has developed into an all-purpose player with evident leadership skills on and off the court. She is just four points away from the 500-career-point milestone and has accumulated 228 assists in her three active seasons. She has started 71 of the 85 games in which she has played, including 15 of her 16 contests this season.

Miller is a true senior who has already graduated with her degree in Sociology. Miller has donned the four letters in 114 games and has earned starts in 48 of her last 49 appearances. The Kirkwood, Mo., native eclipsed the 500-career-point milestone last weekend against Oregon State (Feb. 24) and has tallied 391 rebounds across her career. Miller has also established herself as one of the best passers on the team, totaling 43 assists this season and 118 over the last four seasons. Miller is also also a founding member of the team's More Than a D.R.E.A.M. initiative.

Onyenwere is set to graduate from UCLA as one of the program's all-time great players. She earned Third Team AP-All-America honors in 2020 and has earned All-Pac-12 acclaim in back-to-back seasons. She is currently 10th on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 1,746 points and has also tallied 855 rebounds over the last four seasons. She helped lead the Bruins to an Elite 8 appearance in 2018 and a Sweet 16 berth in 2019. She has scored in double figures in 80 games and has notched double-doubles on 31 occasions across her career. She is a founding member of the team's More Than a D.R.E.A.M. initiative and a top-10 finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.

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 13-4 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 10 games for the Bruins this season.

AP POLL PROMINENCE
The Bruins earned the No. 10 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. 4), Arizona (No. 9), and Oregon (No. 13) also joining the list. UCLA has now been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 37 straight weeks and has secured a top-11 ranking in each of the last 34 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.