On a random Tuesday in November, Lavin surprised Close by showing up after one of the UCLA women’s practices and told her that he had informed Wooden that she’d be tagging along that night. At first, she was nervous. She remembers telling Lavin, “I’m not prepared. I can’t go.”

UCLA coach Cori Close first met Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd as teenagers playing for USA Basketball and remains a fan of the UConn stars.

Watkins was a near unanimous pick for national player of the year, while Close, who led the Bruins to their first-ever Final Four, is coach of the year.

In the latest episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, Madeleine Considine highlights how Head Coach Cori Close used UCLA’s trip to the Final Four to correct

UConn football coach Jim Mora is a former colleague, and still an fan of UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close, the Huskies’ Final Four foe.

SPOKANE, Wash. — UCLA has won 124 national championships in school history. The women’s basketball team comes into its home gym of Pauley Pavilion and sees banners for 11 men’s basketball titles, nine gymnastics championships and 25 national titles for volleyball.

The UCLA Bruins are hours away from their Elite Eight matchup with the LSU Tigers on Sunday afternoon and one specific position matchup will be pivotal. Coach Cori Close breaks down the post play battle that will be make or break things.

UCLA coach Cori Close basked in confetti at midcourt Sunday afternoon after her Bruins defeated LSU 72-65. While UCLA had been the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament, its path to the program’s first Final Four had not been easy.