UCLA Women's Basketball: Cori Close Calls Out Refs After Massive Free Throw Imbalance In USC Loss

It was... noticeable.

UCLA Bruins women's basketball head coach Cori Close got uncharacteristically candid with reporters following an 80-70 double overtime defeat against the USC Trojans last night, in a Pac-12 Tournament's Semifinal game for the ages.

As Luca Evans of The Orange County register notes, Close postgame went on an epic, thoughtful breakdown of attendant referees' generosity with regard to the allotment of free throws last night. USC notched 37 foul line shots, while UCLA had just 17. Freshman Trojans All-American shooting guard JuJu Watkins alone tied UCLA's mark, and she even missed some time when she left the floor to deal with an ankle injury -- twice!

Here are Close's full thoughts:

Very interesting commentary here from UCLA coach Cori Close, when asked postgame about the free-throw disparity between USC-UCLA (37 to 17) tonight in USC's 80-70 win. Transcribed her full answer. Called for more transparency in refereeing in the women's game. pic.twitter.com/EytaQO5zZW

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) March 9, 2024