# 2018–19 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team

The 2018–19 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins, led by eighth year head coach Cori Close, played their home games at the Pauley Pavilion. They were members of the Pac-12 Conference.
The Bruins started the season 3–5, their worst start since the 2014–15 season, before going on a 6-game winning streak. The Bruins then lost their next four, including a 72–67 home loss on January 20 to a USC team that had failed to win any of its first five conference games. The loss dropped the Bruins to 0–3 in Pac-12 home games on the season; in the previous three seasons, they had only lost one Pac-12 home game.
The Bruins' next game following the USC loss was an upset road win over No. 16 Arizona State. The Bruins then traveled to Arizona and defeated the Wildcats 98–93 in three overtimes; the game was the first three-overtime game in UCLA women's basketball history, as well as the longest Pac-12 women's basketball game in over a decade.
On February 10, 2019, the Bruins upset No. 17 Utah, 100–90, in Salt Lake City. The Bruins' 40 points in the fourth quarter was the highest single-quarter point tally in UCLA women's basketball history.
On February 22, 2019, the Bruins upset No. 2 Oregon, 74–69, in Eugene. This was the Bruins' first win over a top five opponent since 2013. The Bruins erased a 22-point deficit in the comeback victory.
The Bruins finished the regular season with a 19–11 overall record and a 12–6 record in Pac-12 play (5–4 at home and 7–2 on the road), having won 10 of their last 12 regular season games. UCLA's only two losses during that 12-game span were against No. 10 Stanford at home and No. 12 Oregon State on the road.
On March 6, 2019, Pac-12 media members voted head coach Cori Close Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
The Bruins secured a (4) seed and a first-round bye to the Pac-12 Tournament. They defeated (5) Arizona State in the quarterfinals before losing to (1) Oregon in overtime in the semifinals.
The Bruins secured a (6) seed in the NCAA Women’s Tournament. They defeated (11) Tennessee 89–77 in the first round and defeated (3) Maryland 85–80 in the second round before losing to (2) Connecticut 69–61 in the Sweet Sixteen. The Bruins concluded the season with a 22–13 overall record. They won 13 of their last 17 games after starting the season 9–9.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Ashley Hearn | F | 6'4" | RS Jr. | Rowlett, Texas | Graduated in December 2018; transferred mid-season to Texas A&M |
| Jordin Canada | G | 5'6" | Sr. | Los Angeles, California | Graduated; selected 5th overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2018 WNBA draft |
| Monique Billings | F | 6'4" | Sr. | Corona, California | Graduated; selected 15th overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2018 WNBA draft |
| Kelli Hayes | G | 6'0" | Sr. | San Jose, California | Graduated |

### Incoming transfer

| Name | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Natalie Chou | Guard | 6'1" | So | Plano, TX | Baylor |

### 2018 recruiting class

Source:
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Ahlana Smith G | Charlotte, NC | Mallard Creek | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Shayley Harris P | Redding, CA | Folsom | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Kiara Jefferson PG | Sacramento, CA | West Campus | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/03/2018* 2:00 pm | | Westmont | W 75–55 | | Pauley Pavilion (815) Los Angeles, CA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/06/2018* 7:30 pm | | at Loyola Marymount | L 63–69 | 0–1 | Gersten Pavilion (498) Los Angeles, CA |
| 11/11/2018* 2:00 pm | | Rice | W 59–50 | 1–1 | Pauley Pavilion (1,353) Los Angeles, CA |
| 11/14/2018* 11:00 am, P12N | | No. 14 Georgia | W 80–69 | 2–1 | Pauley Pavilion (5,113) Los Angeles, CA |
| 11/18/2018* 2:00 pm | | Seton Hall | W 78–62 | 3–1 | Pauley Pavilion (2,157) Los Angeles, CA |
| 11/22/2018* 12:00 pm | | vs. North Carolina Paradise Jam tournament Island Division | L 49–83 | 3–2 | Sports and Fitness Center (874) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| 11/23/2018* 10:00 am | | vs. Kentucky Paradise Jam Tournament Island Division | L 74–75 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | Sports and Fitness Center Saint Thomas, USVI |
| 11/24/2018* 12:00 pm | | vs. No. 17 South Florida Paradise Jam Tournament Island Division | L 56–60 | 3–4 | Sports and Fitness Center (814) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| 12/02/2018* 1:00 pm, P12N | | Indiana | L 65–67 | 3–5 | Pauley Pavilion (3,511) Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/07/2018* 7:00 pm | | Fresno State | W 89–80 | 4–5 | Pauley Pavilion (1,190) Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/16/2018* 2:00 pm | | Oklahoma State | W 71–59 | 5–5 | Pauley Pavilion (2,501) Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/19/2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UIC | W 78–47 | 6–5 | Credit Union 1 Arena (640) Chicago, IL |
| 12/28/2018* 5:00 pm | | Cal Poly | W 81–35 | 7–5 | Pauley Pavilion (2,121) Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-12 regular season ||||||
| 12/30/2018 2:00 pm, P12N | | at USC Rivalry | W 72–65 | 8–5 (1–0) | Galen Center (1,173) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/04/2019 7:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 18 California | W 84–79 $^{OT}$ | 9–5 (2–0) | Haas Pavilion (2,107) Berkeley, CA |
| 01/06/2019 1:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 6 Stanford | L 80–86 | 9–6 (2–1) | Maples Pavilion (3,231) Stanford, CA |
| 01/11/2019 7:00 pm, P12N | | No. 10 Oregon State | L 73–83 | 9–7 (2–2) | Pauley Pavilion (2,404) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/13/2019 2:00 pm, P12N | | No. 5 Oregon | L 52–72 | 9–8 (2–3) | Pauley Pavilion (8,036) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/20/2019 4:00 pm, P12N | | USC Rivalry | L 67–72 | 9–9 (2–4) | Pauley Pavilion (6,103) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/25/2019 10:00 am, P12N | | at No. 16 Arizona State | W 61–59 | 10–9 (3–4) | Wells Fargo Arena (7,322) Tempe, AZ |
| 01/27/2019 1:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona | W 98–93 $^{3OT}$ | 11–9 (4–4) | McKale Center (2,327) Tucson, AZ |
| 02/01/2019 7:00 pm | | Washington State | W 83–56 | 12–9 (5–4) | Pauley Pavilion (1,419) Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/03/2019 12:30 pm | | Washington | W 76–60 | 13–9 (6–4) | Pauley Pavilion (1,642) Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/08/2019 6:00 pm, P12N | | at Colorado | W 64–60 | 14–9 (7–4) | CU Events Center (2,261) Boulder, CO |
| 02/10/2019 11:00 am, P12N | | at No. 17 Utah | W 100–90 | 15–9 (8–4) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (2,107) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 02/15/2019 6:00 pm, P12N | | No. 10 Stanford | L 51–65 | 15–10 (8–5) | Pauley Pavilion (2,479) Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/17/2019 4:00 pm, P12N | | California | W 80–74 | 16–10 (9–5) | Pauley Pavilion (2,127) Los Angeles, CA |
| 02/22/2019 8:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 2 Oregon | W 74–69 | 17–10 (10–5) | Matthew Knight Arena (8,858) Eugene, OR |
| 02/24/2019 1:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 12 Oregon State | L 72–75 | 17–11 (10–6) | Gill Coliseum (5,916) Corvallis, OR |
| 03/01/2019 7:00 pm | No. 25 | Utah | W 76–60 | 18–11 (11–6) | Pauley Pavilion (1,450) Los Angeles, CA |
| 03/03/2019 12:00 pm, P12N | No. 25 | Colorado | W 84–50 | 19–11 (12–6) | Pauley Pavilion (2,411) Los Angeles, CA |
| Pac-12 Women's tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2019 11:30 am, P12N | (4) No. 25 | vs. (5) No. 20 Arizona State Quarterfinals | W 73–69 | 20–11 | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV |
| 03/09/2019 6:00 pm, P12N | (4) No. 25 | vs. (1) No. 6 Oregon Semifinals | L 83–88 $^{OT}$ | 20–12 | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV |
| NCAA Women's tournament ||||||
| 03/23/2019* 10:30 am, ESPN2 | (6 A) No. 20 | vs. (11 A) Tennessee First Round | W 89–77 | 21–12 | Xfinity Center (5,072) College Park, MD |
| 03/25/2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN | (6 A) No. 20 | at (3 A) No. 9 Maryland Second Round | W 85–80 | 22–12 | Xfinity Center (3,941) College Park, MD |
| 03/29/2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN | (6 A) No. 20 | vs. (2 A) No. 2 Connecticut Sweet Sixteen | L 61–69 | 22–13 | Times Union Center Albany, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A=Albany Region. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||

## Rankings

2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

## Honors

* March 5, 2019 – Michaela Onyenwere was named All-Pac-12 team, Kennedy Burke was named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and All-Defensive team, Lindsey Corsaro named to the All-Freshman team
* March 6, 2019 – Coach Cori Close was named the Pac-12 media Coach of the Year
* March 10, 2019 – Kennedy Burke and Japreece Dean were named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team