2023–24 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team

The 2023–24 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins were led by 13th-year head coach Cori Close. They played their home games at Pauley Pavilion and competed as members of the Pac-12 Conference. This was also the last season for UCLA played in the Pac-12 Conference before moving to the Big Ten Conference on August 1, 2024.

2023–24 UCLA Bruins women's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 10
Record	27–7 (13–5 Pac-12)
Head coach	Cori Close (13th season)
Associate head coach	Shannon Perry-LeBeauf
Assistant coaches	Tasha Brown Tony Newnan Soh Matsuura
Home arena	Pauley Pavilion (Capacity: 13,800)
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Pac-12 Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 9 Stanford	15	–	3		.833			30	–	6		.833
No. 5 USC †	13	–	5		.722			29	–	6		.829
No. 10 UCLA	13	–	5		.722			27	–	7		.794
No. 8 Oregon State	12	–	6		.667			27	–	8		.771
No. 15 Colorado	11	–	7		.611			24	–	10		.706
No. 22 Utah	11	–	7		.611			23	–	11		.676
Arizona	8	–	10		.444			18	–	16		.529
California	7	–	11		.389			19	–	15		.559
Washington State	7	–	11		.389			21	–	15		.583
Washington	6	–	12		.333			16	–	15		.516
Arizona State	3	–	15		.167			11	–	20		.355
Oregon	2	–	16		.111			11	–	21		.344
† 2024 Pac-12 tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Prior to the season, the Bruins secured the signing of highly touted center Lauren Betts, the former top-ranked high school recruit in the country who was transferring to UCLA from conference rival Stanford after one season in which she received limited playing time.^[1]

Going into the Cayman Islands classic, the Bruins were ranked Number 2 in the AP poll, the highest in program history.^[2] They defeated the Paige Bueckers-led UConn Huskies in that tournament.^[3] The Bruins finished the season with a 27–7 record, including 13–5 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and were eliminated in the sweet sixteen by LSU.^[4]

Previous season

UCLA finished the season 27–10, 11–7 in Pac-12 play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fifth seed in the Pac-12 tournament, they defeated Arizona State in the first round, Arizona in the quarterfinals, and Stanford in the semifinals before losing in the championship game to Washington State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a 4th seed in the Greenville Regional 1, where they defeated Sacramento State in the first round and Oklahoma in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019, where they lost to 1-seed South Carolina.

Offseason

Departures

UCLA departures

Name	Num.	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Brynn Masikewich	5	F	6'3"	Senior	Calgary, AB	Graduate transferred to DePaul
Gina Conti	10	G	5'11"	GS Senior	Grove City, OH	Graduated

Incoming

UCLA incoming transfers

Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Lauren Betts	51	C	6'7"	Sophomore	Centennial, CO	Stanford

Recruiting

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Amanda Muse P	Brentwood, CA	Heritage High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (95)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023.

Recruiting class of 2024

College recruiting information (2024)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kendall Dudley W	Centreville, VA	Sidwell Friends School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (97)
Avary Cain G	Santa Maria, CA	Saint Joseph High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (96)
Zania Socka-Nguemen F	Washington, D.C.	Sidwell Friends School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (96)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: "2024 Player Commits". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023.

Roster

2023–24 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Kiki Rice 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Sidwell Friends Bethesda, MD G 3 Londynn Jones 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) So Centennial Riverside, CA F 11 Emily Bessoir  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Jr Wilhelm-Hausenstein Gymnasium Munich, Germany G 20 Charisma Osborne 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) GS Windward School Moreno Valley, CA F 21 Lina Sontag 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Schadow-Gymnasium Kleinmachnow, Germany F 22 Christeen Iwuala 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Ronald Reagan San Antonio, TX F 23 Gabriela Jaquez 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Camarillo Camarillo, CA F 32 Angela Dugalić 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Jr Maine West Oregon Des Plaines, IL F 33 Amanda Muse 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr Heritage Brentwood, CA G 35 Camryn Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) GS Prestonwood Christian Lewisville, TX F 43 Izzy Anstey  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Jr Caulfield Melbourne, Australia C 51 Lauren Betts 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) So Grandview Stanford Centennial, CO	Head coach Cori Close (UC Santa Barbara) Assistant coach(es) Shannon Perry-LeBeauf (Iowa) Tony Newnan (UC Santa Barbara) Tasha Brown (St. Ambrose) Soh Matsuura (UCLA) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: April 2, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 5:30 p.m., P12N	No. 4	Purdue	W 92–49	1–0	20 – tied	7 – Betts	10 – Rice	Pauley Pavilion (2,157) Los Angeles, CA
November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m.	No. 4	UC Riverside	W 90–52	2–0	18 – tied	15 – Betts	5 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (1,431) Los Angeles, CA
November 12, 2023* 2:00 p.m.	No. 4	Bellarmine	W 113–64	3–0	30 – Jaquez	12 – Jaquez	4 – tied	Pauley Pavilion (1,625) Los Angeles, CA
November 17, 2023* 11:30 a.m., P12N	No. 3	Princeton	W 77–74	4–0	22 – Betts	10 – Betts	3 – tied	Pauley Pavilion (6,243) Los Angeles, CA
November 24, 2023* 4:30 p.m., FloSports	No. 2	vs. No. 6 UConn Cayman Islands Classic	W 78–67	5–0	24 – Rice	11 – Rice	8 – Rice	John Gray Gymnasium (300) George Town, Cayman Islands
November 25, 2023* 10:30 a.m., FloSports	No. 2	vs. Niagara Cayman Islands Classic	W 97–46	6–0	23 – Jaquez	7 – tied	8 – Rice	John Gray Gymnasium (300) George Town, Cayman Islands
December 3, 2023* 12:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 2	at Arkansas	W 81–66	7–0	20 – Betts	11 – Jaquez	6 – Osborne	Bud Walton Arena (4,261) Fayetteville, AR
December 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m.	No. 2	Cal State Northridge	W 111–48	8–0	18 – tied	10 – Rice	10 – Rice	Pauley Pavilion (2,493) Los Angeles, CA
December 10, 2023* 9:00 a.m., ESPN2	No. 2	vs. No. 20 Florida State Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Showcase	W 95–78	9–0	22 – Betts	18 – Betts	6 – Rice	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
December 18, 2023* 3:30 p.m., FS1	No. 2	at No. 13 Ohio State	W 77–71	10–0	19 – Osborne	11 – Betts	4 – tied	Value City Arena (6,800) Columbus, OH
December 21, 2023* 1:00 p.m.	No. 2	Hawaii	W 85–46	11–0	17 – Osborne	7 – Betts	6 – Rice	Pauley Pavilion (2,142) Los Angeles, CA
Pac-12 regular season
December 30, 2023 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 2	No. 6 USC Rivalry	W 71–64	12–0 (1–0)	21 – Jones	8 – Betts	6 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (13,659) Los Angeles, CA
January 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N	No. 2	Oregon	W 75–49	13–0 (2–0)	17 – Dugalić	11 – Betts	10 – Rice	Pauley Pavilion (3,415) Los Angeles, CA
January 7, 2024 1:00 p.m., P12N	No. 2	Oregon State	W 65–54	14–0 (3–0)	15 – Osborne	8 – tied	4 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (3,623) Los Angeles, CA
January 14, 2024 2:00 p.m., P12N	No. 2	at No. 9 USC Rivalry	L 65–73	14–1 (3–1)	25 – Osborne	10 – Dugalic	4 – Osborne	Galen Center (10,258) Los Angeles, CA
January 19, 2024 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 5	at No. 3 Colorado	W 76–68	15–1 (4–1)	22 – Osborne	13 – tied	2 – tied	CU Events Center (11,338) Boulder, CO
January 22, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 2	at No. 16 Utah	L 81–94 OT	15–2 (4–2)	21 – Jaquez	7 – Rice	3 – tied	Jon M. Huntsman Center (5,261) Salt Lake City, UT
January 26, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N	No. 2	Washington	W 62–44	16–2 (5–2)	17 – Osborne	13 – Dugalić	6 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (3,563) Los Angeles, CA
January 28, 2024 1:00 p.m., P12N	No. 2	Washington State	L 82–85	16–3 (5–3)	25 – Rice	6 – tied	5 – tied	Pauley Pavilion (7,241) Los Angeles, CA
February 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N	No. 7	at California	W 78–58	17–3 (6–3)	32 – Osborne	4 – tied	4 – Osborne	Haas Pavilion (3,784) Berkeley, CA
February 4, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 7	at No. 4 Stanford	L 60–80	17–4 (6–4)	13 – tied	5 – tied	3 – Jones	Maples Pavilion (7,207) Stanford, CA
February 9, 2024 8:00 p.m., P12N	No. 9	Arizona	W 66–58	18–4 (7–4)	21 – Jaquez	15 – Jaquez	6 – tied	Pauley Pavilion (5,210) Los Angeles, CA
February 11, 2024 12:00 p.m., P12N	No. 9	Arizona State	W 78–45	19–4 (8–4)	18 – Betts	8 – Rice	5 – Brown	Pauley Pavilion (3,182) Los Angeles, CA
February 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., P12N	No. 9	at No. 11 Oregon State	L 77–79	19–5 (8–5)	24 – Betts	7 – Betts	5 – Rice	Gill Coliseum (8,525) Corvallis, OR
February 18, 2024 2:00 p.m., P12N	No. 9	at Oregon	W 74–55	20–5 (9–5)	17 – Betts	12 – Osborne	6 – Osborne	Matthew Knight Arena (6,792) Eugene, OR
February 22, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 12	No. 18 Utah	W 82–52	21–5 (10–5)	23 – Jones	9 – Dugalic	7 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (3,711) Los Angeles, CA
February 26, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 8	No. 13 Colorado Senior Night	W 53–45	22–5 (11–5)	20 – Rice	9 – tied	4 – Rice	Pauley Pavilion (5,319) Los Angeles, CA
February 29, 2024 6:00 p.m., P12N	No. 8	at Arizona State	W 70–41	23–5 (12–5)	20 – Betts	11 – Betts	7 – Rice	Desert Financial Arena (1,871) Tempe, AZ
March 2, 2024 5:00 p.m., P12N	No. 8	at Arizona	W 61–41	24–5 (13–5)	16 – Jones	12 – Betts	6 – Rice	McKale Center (7,845) Tucson, AZ
Pac-12 women's tournament
March 7, 2024 8:30 p.m., P12N	(3) No. 7	vs. (6) No. 22 Utah Quarterfinals	W 67–57	25–5	17 – Dugalić	9 – Rice	3 – tied	MGM Grand Garden Arena (4,901) Paradise, NV
March 8, 2024 7:30 p.m., P12N	(3) No. 7	vs. (2) No. 5 USC Semifinals/Rivalry	L 70–80 2OT	25–6	21 – Osborne	18 – Betts	6 – Rice	MGM Grand Garden Arena (5,713) Paradise, NV
NCAA women's tournament
March 23, 2024* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2	(2 A2) No. 6	(15 A2) California Baptist First round	W 84–55	26–6	20 – Rice	15 – Osborne	9 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (8,841) Los Angeles, CA
March 25, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPN2	(2 A2) No. 6	(7 A2) No. 24 Creighton Second round	W 67–63	27–6	24 – Rice	10 – Betts	4 – Osborne	Pauley Pavilion (7,839) Los Angeles, CA
March 30, 2024* 10:00 a.m., ABC	(2 A2) No. 6	vs. (3 A2) No. 8 LSU Sweet Sixteen	L 69–78	27–7	14 – tied	17 – Betts	5 – Rice	MVP Arena  Albany, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A2=Albany 2. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source:^[5]

Rankings

See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2 (1)	2 (1)	5	2	7	9	9	12	8	7	6	6	10
Coaches	8	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	5т	4	8	10	9	12	8	7	8	8	9

*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.
^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.

Awards and honors

• February 29, 2024 – Coach Cori Close is the recipient of the 2024 WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award
• March 5, 2024 – Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, and Charisma Osborne named to the All-Pac-12 Team
• March 5, 2024 – Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team
• April 15, 2024 – Charisma Osborne is selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the 25th pick in the 2024 WNBA draft