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UCLA Basketball: The women can make a statement against UCONN

ByMike Regalado|
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 31: Head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies reacts in the first quarter against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the semifinal round of the 2017 NCAA Women's Final Four at American Airlines Center on March 31, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 31: Head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies reacts in the first quarter against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the semifinal round of the 2017 NCAA Women's Final Four at American Airlines Center on March 31, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

The #5 UCLA Basketball women’s team made a statement beating Baylor. They will turn heads if they beat the mighty UCONN, but even if they lose, they will have a lot of people looking in Westwood’s direction.

Tonight, one of the biggest women’s basketball games of the season will take place at Pauley Pavilion as the UCONN and UCLA Basketball women’s teams take to Nell and John Wooden Court.

RELATED: UCLA Women’s Basketball defeats #3 Baylor

The fact that UCLA is a part of this contest is no surprise. Head coach Cori Close has been the architect, contractor,  engineer and landscaper that has made this Bruins squad the #3 team in the nation.

Close has been quietly putting together a team that has championship potential, on the conference and on the national level.

Racking up wins and getting deep into the tournament is great but one of the things the Bruins have to focus on is beating top talent. In the last two seasons, UCLA has a record of 8-11 against ranked opponents.  The Bruins have to show that this they can change this and take control in higher profile games.

UCLA certainly did that last Saturday when the Baylor Bears had no answer for the Bruins’ big three, Jordin Canada, Monique Billings and Kennedy Burke. These three Bruins are essential to UCLA’s success and are going to be major keys to victory against elite opponents.

Tonight the Bruins will try and continue that success as they face one of the best women’s college basketball programs in recent history, Connecticut, the team that gave them their  Sweet 16 exit from last season’s NCAA tournament.

Geno Auriemma‘s Huskies, despite not winning the national championship last season, are still a very dangerous group, currently ranked no. 1 in the nation. It was in this last NCAA tournament where UConn‘s record 111 consecutive wins was snapped. During that time, the Huskies won four national championships. A loss in this most recent tournament does not knock them down a peg, in fact, they will be looking to bounce back and get some revenge.

But UCLA will also look to get some revenge. The last two seasons UCLA has not gone past the Sweet 16 and seeing how this team is playing this season, getting farther in the tournament is going to be a big goal for the Bruins.

But tonight, UCLA has to tend to an immediate priority. The Bruins have a chance to take out the no. 1 team in the nation. If that happens, many, many people will be looking at the women’s basketball team as a major contender for the national title this season.

Next: UCLA Basketball: The women’s team 2017-18 season preview

Actually, unless the Bruins are blown out, UCLA will turn heads anyway. The Bruins have been quiet on the national front the last couple seasons, but they’re slowly making some noise. Eventually you’re going to be hearing that “UCLA women’s basketball sounds like BOOM!”

Schedule

Schedule