UCLA Women's Basketball: Cori Close Breaks Down Biggest Cause For Loss vs LSU

Alex Kirschenbaum | Apr 3, 2024

Mar 28, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close answers questions during the presser. / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

After her UCLA Bruins were bounced yet again in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament, head coach Cori Close explained that she intends to exhaustively re-litigate the team's 78-69 defeat Saturday in Albany to the reigning champion LSU Tigers. Angel Reese and co. went on to lose in the Elite Eight to Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes, in a 2023 championship game rematch.

“I will play this over and over in my head and try to figure out from my perspective how I could have led them better or different,” Close said. “But you’re not going to win games in this level giving up 30 points in the fourth quarter. Again, I’m the head coach. I’m responsible. They’re young. I need to lead them better, and I need to lead them into situations where they have the confidence and that we execute in those scenarios. Youth cannot be our excuse.”

UCLA will lose grad student guard Charisma Osborne to the draft, and upperclassman forwards Angela Dugalic and Emily Bessoir (who missed all but one game this year) have a decision to make about their futures, but the rest of the club's exciting core should remain intact, barring any NCAA transfer portal action, of course.