UCLA Women’s Basketball Takes on Hawai’i In The NCAA Tournament
The #3 UCLA Women’s Basketball team takes on Hawai’i in the NCAA Tournament as they host the first two rounds in Pauley Pavilion.
After a 24-8, 14-4 season, the UCLA Women’s Basketball team took third place in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bruins then went to the Pac-12 Tournament Championship where they unfortunately lost to Oregon State (who received a #2 seed in the Dallas Regional).
This season was a vast improvement from last year when the Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament, yet made an impressive run in the NIT and captured the Championship against West Virginia.
This year, the Bruins look to regain that post-season spark and now have a chance to do it on the big stage!
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Records: #14 Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (21-10, 12-4), #3 UCLA Bruins (15-15, 6-11)
Tipoff: 3:30 p.m. PT
Location: Pauley Pavilion (12,829)
Tickets: uclabruins.com
TV: ESPN2
Online: Watch ESPN
The Bruins begin the NCAA Tournament against the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors who ended their season third in the Big West Conference. They are led by Destiny King who is leading the team with 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The Rainbow Warriors are a very balanced team as their top four scorers average between 8.5 and 10.5 points per game. As a team, they score 65.1 ppg and allow 59.1. Though they play a slower game than the Bruins, they are really going to have to make a defensive stop if they want to advance to round two.
UCLA is averaging 74.4 ppg, which is over ten more points than they allow. The Bruins will be led by the aggressive back court of Nirra Fields and Jordin Canada, who are averaging over 30 points per game, collectively. The Bruins are also solid in the front court as Monique Billings is adding 12.7 ppg and pulling down a team-high 8.0 rpg.
Next: The Projected Depth Chart For UCLA Men's Basketball in 2016-17
UCLA Head Coach Cori Close should have the Bruins ready for Hawai’i, especially after the season they produced. The Bruin’s up-tempo style of play and suffocating defense — as well as their major home court advantage — should have UCLA playing in the second round against the winner of #8 South Florida and #11 Colorado State (who play in Game 2 at Pauley Pavilion at 6 p.m. PT).
Prediction: Hawai’i 52 – UCLA 68