UCLA Women's Basketball Announces Season Opener

Bonjour!

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The UCLA Bruins women's basketball team announced that they will begin the 2024-25 season with a matchup against Louisville in Paris, France. The game will take place on Nov. 4 at the Adidas Arena in Paris, the time has not been announced yet.

What a oui-k to announce a trip to Paris 🇫🇷👀

The Bruins will open 2024-25 against Louisville at the @aflac Oui-Play event! More info here ⤵️

🗞️: https://t.co/xB1FclXlKE #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/xwbMDzsqJa

— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB) July 23, 2024

This game is part of 2024 Aflac Oui-Play event, which will also feature a matchup between USC women's basketball and Ole Miss women's basketball.

"This is the preeminent opening event in women's college basketball," UCLA head coach Cori Close said, via UCLA Communications. "There will be elite competition and intentional, educational, and cultural opportunities for our young women. It sets the stage for what we want to accomplish on the court, and it's a mission-minded experience at the same time."

The Bruins head on this international trip to begin their season after advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second straight year in 2024. UCLA went 27-7 during the season, even ranking as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll, before losing to LSU in the Sweet 16.

UCLA will take on Louisville, who went 24-10 overall during the 2023-24 season. The Cardinals recently made it as far as the NCAA Elite Eight in 2023.

UCLA women's basketball previously played abroad in 2023, when they defeated both UConn and Niagara in the Cayman Islands.

This opening game will mark a return to Paris for Emily Bessoir, Lina Sontag, and Angela Dugalić, who are all competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Bessoir and Sontag are playing basketball for Germany, while Dugalić is competing for Serbia.

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