2021–22 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team explained

Mode:Women's basketball
Year:2021–22
Team:UCLA Bruins
Conference:Pac-12 Conference
Short Conf:Pac-12
Record:18–13
Conf Record:8–8
Head Coach:Cori Close
Hc Year:11th
Assoc Coach:Shannon Perry-LeBeauf
Asst Coach1:Tasha Brown
Asst Coach2:Tony Newnan
Stadium:Pauley Pavilion
(Capacity: 13,800)
Tourney:WNIT
Tourney Result:semifinals

The 2021–22 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins were led by eleventh-year head coach Cori Close. They played their home games at Pauley Pavilion and competed as members of the Pac-12 Conference.

The Bruins were invited to the WNIT as the automatic qualifier for the Pac-12 Conference. It was the Bruins' first WNIT appearance since 2015, when they were WNIT champions.

Previous season

The Bruins finished the season 17–6, 12–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the Pac-12 women's tournament they advanced to the championship game where they lost to Stanford.[1] As a three seed in the NCAA tournament, the Bruins managed to beat Wyoming in the 1st round,[2] but then they lost to Texas in the second round to end their season.[3]

Offseason

Departures

Due to COVID-19 disruptions throughout NCAA sports in 2020–21, the NCAA announced that the 2020–21 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any individual involved in an NCAA winter sport, including women's basketball. This meant that all seniors in 2020–21 had the option to return for 2021–22.

UCLA Departures
Lindsay Corsaro G 6'1" Junior Graduated
F 6'0" Senior Graduated; selected 6th overall by the New York Liberty in the 2021 WNBA draft
Lauryn Miller F 6'1" Senior Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Num Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous school
Gina Conti 10 G 5'11" Graduate Student Grove City, OHWake Forest
IImar'I Thomas 24 F 5'10" Graduate Student Oakland, CACincinnati
Jaelynn Penn 31 G 5'10" Graduate Student Louisville, KYIndiana
32 F 6'4" Sophomore Des Plaines, ILOregon

Preseason

Schedule

|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular Season|-!colspan=9 style=| |-!colspan=12 style=| Source:[4]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings. *The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.
^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.

Awards and honors

RecipientAward (PAC-12 Conference)Stats (PPG/RPG/FG%)WeekDate awardedRef.
Player of the Week31.0/6.0/68.8November 29-December 5December 6, 2021[5]
Player of the WeekJanuary 17 – January 23January 24, 2022
Player of the WeekFebruary 21 – February 27February 28, 2022
All-Pac-12 teamMarch 1, 2022
All-Pac-12 teamMarch 1, 2022
All-Defensive, Honorable MentionMarch 1, 2022
All-Freshman, Honorable MentionMarch 1, 2022

Statistics

Updated through February 26, 2022

Scoring 1594 1480
Scoring Average 66.4 61.7
Field Goals - Att 582–1433 509–1305
3-pt. Field Goals - Att 147–437 168–451
Free Throws - Att 283–366 294–410
Rebounds 878 792
Assists 331 298
Turnovers 323 358
Steals 153 162

Notes and References

  1. Web site: UCLA vs Stanford Box Score. espn.com. March 7, 2021. August 24, 2021.
  2. Web site: UCLA vs Wyoming Box Score. espn.com. March 22, 2021. August 24, 2021.
  3. Web site: UCLA vs Texas Box Score. espn.com. March 24, 2021. August 24, 2021.
  4. Web site: 2021-22 Women's Basketball Schedule. uclabruins.com. UCLA Athletics. October 12, 2021.
  5. Web site: Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva - Dec. 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211206211706/https://pac-12.com/article/2021/12/06/pac-12-womens-basketball-performance-awards-presented-nextiva-dec-6-2021. dead. December 6, 2021. Pac-12.com. December 6, 2021. December 6, 2021.