told ESPN<\/a> that the blowout loss became a rallying cry throughout the offseason that followed, during weight-room sessions last summer and as practices resumed this fall in Westwood. UCLA found its difference-makers this season in players like Leger-Walker, the New Zealand native who had transferred to UCLA in 2024 but sat out last season with an injury. Leger-Walker scored 10 points in 26 minutes against South Carolina, but Close told reporters Saturday that her impact on UCLA began even while she was injured.<\/p>\n\u201cProbably one of the biggest connectors on our team is Charlisse Leger-Walker,\u201d Close said. \u201cShe\u2019s only been here two years. If you asked every player about who\u2019s one of the biggest people who has brought us to be a whole and not just individual parts, they would say her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kneepkens, who transferred from Utah last offseason, also provided the Bruins a different element with her 42% shooting on 3-pointers, the 14th-best mark in the country this season. No other teammate shot better than 38%.<\/p>\n
Rice this season produced career bests in points, field-goal accuracy, rebounds and steals. Jaquez played one of the best games of her career in the title game, exploding for 21 points, including dagger 3-pointers in the second half that pushed the Bruins’ lead to more than 30. <\/p>\n
“We had a feeling this was our time, this was our year,” Rice said after the game. “We came out there this entire weekend, and we would not be denied.”<\/p>\n