Balance was key for UCLA.
The Bruins finished with four players scoring in double figures, 20 assists and a 46.9 percent shooting clip. Junior guard Jordin Canada led the team with 15 points, five assists and five steals with sophomore guard Kennedy Burke adding another 14 points, five assists and three steals.
The visiting Westmont Warriors struggled to find an offensive rhythm against the Bruins’ length, as the home team went on to secure the eventual 80-45 exhibition win.
UCLA coach Cori Close attributed most of the team’s win to its defensive effort, which held the Warriors to only a 26.9 shooting percentage. The Bruins’ defense went to a 2-2-1 full court press that forced Westmont into several turnovers and a 2-3 half-court set that hindered their opponent’s ability to organize their offense.
“They’re a really good execution team. If they were able to run their offense, it would be a lot harder for us,” Close said. “It was about not letting Westmont play the way they wanted to play. … No. 1 was to take them away from the three-point line.”
Close also added that UCLA was focused on limiting Westmont’s backcourt duo of sophomore guard Kayla Sato and senior guard Cora Chan, who combined to score 30 points.
“We didn’t mind them putting it on the deck, but we needed to have earlier help-side (defense),” Close said. “We wanted to get them more towards the baseline than towards the middle.”
The Warriors struggled to find open shots all night long, with the Bruins’ zone defense forcing them into mid-range and three-point jumpers. Meanwhile, UCLA was able to find points all around the court, with the majority coming from fast-break layups following turnovers.
Overall, the Bruins converted 14 steals and 23 turnovers into 29 points while Canada recorded all of her game-high five steals in the first half.
“They’re just incredibly long at every position,” said Westmont coach Kristen Moore. “Especially when they get in between passing lanes in man-to-man or in 2-3 zone with how much ground they can cover. It’s a huge challenge for us because we are basically outsized in every position.”
Close also commended the team on their effort and passion on the court while drawing on the team’s rebounding and interior offense for an area of improvement.
“It’s not lack of effort,” Close said. “It’s just some technique issues that we’ve got to clean up because we’re playing too hard for us not to reward ourselves with rebounds and possessions. One of the reasons (Canada) got layups in the first half was because (junior forward Monique Billings) was sealing so well inside. And so we need (to) feed that beast a bit more and we have to let our post players touch the ball. ”
Looking ahead, Canada was excited to be able to play at Pauley Pavilion where UCLA was undefeated in Pac-12 play last year.
“Just being back out there with our team and playing against another opponent and having the crowd there is an amazing feeling,” said Canada.
The Bruins, who were voted to win the Pac-12 regular-season title, will begin their season playing host to Pacific on Nov. 11.