By: Daniel Cook, Director of Athletics Communications & Digital Media
RIVERSIDE - The NCAA announced its 68-team field for the 2024 Women's National Tournament, pitting the WAC Champions against the Bruins of UCLA, the runners-up in the Pac-12 regular season.
CBU clinched an automatic bid to the Division I Tournament for the first time in just the second year of postseason eligibility after completing the four-year transition process. The Bruins enter the tournament with championship aspirations after finishing the regular season in a tie for second place with USC, behind Stanford, before falling to the Trojans in the Pac-12 semifinals in double overtime.
The Lancers will be led by the red-hot back court of Chloe Webb, Anaiyah Tu'ua, and Nhug Bosch Duran, who all are coming off incredible WAC Tournament performances. Webb earned Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after averaging a double-double for the Lancers two games, 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. Tu'ua stepped up huge for her team, averaging 19 points per contest in Las Vegas, upped from her season average of 9.1 coming into the tournament. Duran averaged 10 points per game, including a clutch three-pointer late in the championship game to swing momentum into CBU's favor late.
GAME INFORMATION – Saturday, March 23
Opponent: #2 UCLA
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Westwood, Calif.
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Video (Domestic): ESPN2 (WatchESPN)
Live Stats: NCAA | ESPN
This will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams and the fifth contest the CBU women have had against a Pac-12 opponent. The Bruins were 11-0 against non-conference opponents in 2023-24, including wins over ranked opponents in UConn, Florida State, and Ohio State, and were nearly perfect at home, going 14-1 with that lone loss coming at the hands of Washington State on January 28.
The Bruins are led by the three-headed force of Lauren Betts, Charisma Osborne, and Kiki Rice. Betts is a 6-foot-7 center who averaged 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this season, while Osborne and Rice averaged a combined 27.0 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.55 steals per game.
The Bruins are headed up by Head Coach Cori Close, who is in her 13th season as head coach in Westwood. This year's 2-seed is the program's highest seeding ever, an impressive feat for a storied program such as UCLA.
One area of opportunity lies in the discrepancy between the Lancers ability to make three-pointers and the Bruins shaky three-point defense. Nationally, these teams are on opposite ends of the arc as CBU ranks 5th in all of Division I with 9.9 made three pointers per game, shooting them at a 32.8% clip, while UCLA allows opponents to shoot them at a 32.5% rate, which ranks 260th in DI.
Saturday's historic matchup will air on ESPN2, with tipoff planned for 6:30 p.m. Live stats can be found on the NCAA website, while tickets can be purchased through the NCAA website directly.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the First and Second Rounds of the 2024 Division I Women's Basketball Tournament will go on sale to the public at 5 p.m. PDT on Monday, March 18.
