The UCLA Women’s basketball begin their journey in the NCAA Tournament as a 3-seed a Pauley Pavilion against 14-seed American. Here is how to watch and what to know…
The UCLA Women’s Basketball team is ready to dance. The Bruins earned a 3-seed in the Big Dance after a tremendous, though partially disappointing season.
RELATED: Jordin Canada leaves big shoes to fill
The Bruins were picked to win the conference at the begging ion the season, but came up short as they finished in 4th place in a very tough Pac-12 Conference. The Bruins were also ousted form the Pac-12 Tournament in the semifinal by Oregon, the third loss to the Ducks this season.
With that in mind, you can guarantee that the Bruins are heading into the NCAA Tournament with a renewed sense of focus and determination. Here is everything you need to know about UCLA vs. American…
✨ So fresh. So clean. ✨
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 13, 2018
Complete #ncaaW Bracket ⤵️https://t.co/VxMPipVBS1 pic.twitter.com/mCbl43bEdb
UCLA Basketball vs. American Game Day Info
Records:
#3 UCLA Bruins 24-7, 14-4 (3rd Pac-12)
#14 American Eagles 26-6, 16-2 (1st Patriot)
Location: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
Tipoff: 12:30 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
On-line Radio: UCLABruins.com (audio)
Tickets: UCLABruins.com (Tickets)
Last Game:
1Oregon d. 4 UCLA, 65-62 (Pac-12 Semifinals)
1 American d. 3 Navy, 58-49 (Patriot Championship)
Projected Starters
UCLA
G Jordin Canada, G Kennedy Burke, G Kelli Hayes, F Lajahna Drummer, F Monique Billings
American
G Elina Koskimies, G Maria Liddane, G Emily Kinneston, F Cecily Carl, F Michael Harris
Head Coaches
UCLA – Cori Close | American – Megan Gebbia
Rosters
No. 3 UCLA hosts No. 14 American on ESPN2 & ESPN3 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 17 at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET!https://t.co/8uyQ3x85AO | #GoBruins | #GoBeyondGreat pic.twitter.com/6MhpFcGORC
— UCLA W. Basketball (@UCLAWBB) March 16, 2018
UCLA Basketball vs. American: Stats, Final Word and Prediction
Key Individual Stats – UCLA:
Jordin Canada – 16.8 ppg, 6.9 apg, 3.5 rpg
Monique Billings – 15.2 ppg,9.7 rpg, .483 FG%
Kennedy Burke – 10.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .416 FG%
Key Individual Stats – American:
Emily Kinneston – 15.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.3 apg
Cecily Carl – 12.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Michael Harris – 8.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .437 FG%
Team Stats:
| Team | Avg Pts | Opp. Pts | FG% | Rebs | Asts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 75.1 | 62.4 | .426 | 42.2 | 16.5 |
| American | 64.3 | 57.4 | .404 | 34.9 | 14.5 |
Related Story: The Bruins have a rough road ahead in the tourney
Players to Watch:
Kennedy Burke -The unsung hero of this Bruins squad is no stranger to scoring and will be needed to do so with so much attention put on Canada and Billings.
Michaela Onyenwere – The super freshman has been amazing off the bench and will be needed to bring meaningful minutes to the contest.
Last Word:
The floor general, Jordin Canada, has had an amazing career, one that she does not want to end anytime soon. I fully expect her to have the best stretch of games in this tournament along with her partner in crime Monique Billings. Both have propelled the Bruins to one of their best seasons under head coach Cori Close, but it has been bittersweet.
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The Bruins missed out on winning the Pac-12 Championship after being projected to win the conference at the start of the season. But that is in the past and they now have a chance to make some noise in the dance, especially playing in front of their home crowd.
Pauley Pavilion will also host #6 Iowa and #11 Creighton in the first round. If the Bruins win, they will face the winner of that matchup on Monday at Pauley, but first things first.
American has had one of their best season’s in program history. This is only the second time the Eagles have been to the dance and they are not going to squander the opportunity. This season they had a 17-game win streak which was added by a 13-game home win streak.
The Eagles are led by Emily Kinneston who is second in scoring and first in assists in the Patriot League. The Bruins, who can suffocate teams with their defense, need to limit Kinneston’s touches. The Bruins also have to keep Cecily Carl in check and out of the paint as she can grab rebounds and put points on the board.
Both Billings and Lajahna Drummer need to put a body on Carl and make the key their own while Canada shirts down Kinneston. If they can stop American from scoring, this will (obviously) increase their chances of winning as the Bruins have no problem getting points of their own as they are stacked with ballers.
Next: The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team
Prediction: UCLA 84 – American 62