The UCLA women’s basketball team was audibly excited about their blowout win against Arizona while preparing to watch the Super Bowl at a local restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, Sunday.
Coach Cori Close, a huge Peyton Manning fan, was the only one cheering for the Broncos. The rest of her team bonded over their love of Cam Newton and the Panthers.
The Bruins were justified in their jubilation, especially after losing a close one in Tempe against the Arizona State Sun Devils a few nights before.
No. 14 UCLA came out booming with energy after their loss Friday against Arizona State, taking a big victory over unranked University of Arizona 73-39.
“I think with any competitor when beat, you just want to get back on the court and get that good feeling back,” Close said.
The Bruins did just that.
It was an exceptional game for sophomore forward Monique Billings, who led the team with 14 points and five rebounds.
“Monique Billings really set the tone for us on the defensive end,” Close said. “We had a situation when we had 13 straight stops and I think it all started with the way she played the center of the zone – intimidating but really under control. I think it set the tone for the rest of the game.”
It was not easy to snap back from the devastating loss against Arizona State, Billings said.
“We definitely felt a little deflated after the Arizona State game – emotionally, physically … but it made the team want this win that much more,” Billings said. “It really motivated us to come out today on fire and come out sharp.”
However, even with a blowout win, Billings could still identify areas in which her team can improve.
“The big takeaway is that we can’t take any plays off during the game and for the full 40 minutes we just have to continue to go hard,” Billings said. “This late in the year we can’t really have mental lapses and we must be precise with every play because the competition is getting that much harder. We need to stick with what we know how to do.”
Sophomore forward Lajahna Drummer also had one of her better games of the season, leading the team with nine rebounds.
“I feel like in the back of the zone I probably got two deflections and my rotations and rebounding were just a little better than usual,” Drummer said.
Despite the lopsided score, Drummer claims that this wasn’t the Bruins’ best team performance.
“We had to motivate ourselves to play how we know how to play. We started off slow and had to pick it up,” Drummer said. “We definitely could’ve rebounded better out of the zone. If we keep our opponents off the board, we could probably win every game.”
Drummer said the team is excited for their big matchup against Washington this upcoming weekend and is one they have marked on their calendars for a while. Last time, the Bruins lost to the Huskies by eight points, having no answer in stopping Washington guard and All-American Kelsey Plum.
“I am looking forward to getting our revenge against Washington. … We took the ‘L’ and that’s the game that we should’ve won so I’m just looking forward to beating them and playing the way we know how to play,” Drummer said.
Although the team may not agree on who to support this Super Bowl Sunday, they definitely can agree on beating the Huskies.
With contributing reports from Korbin Placet, Bruin Sports senior staff.