LOS ANGELES — A bruise was covering more thanhalf of Gabriela Jaquez’s chin on Wednesday morning – a battle scar from the second-ranked UCLA women’s basketball team’s overtime loss to No. 16 Utah on Monday night.
Jaquez knows she got the bruise when she was diving for a ball, but she doesn’t remember whether it was a player or the floor that gave it to her. What was memorable, though, was her 21 points and six rebounds off the bench.
The Bruins’ reserves provide more than just a spark, averaging 19.7 points per game. It’s become critical to UCLA’s success as a team, and some of the bench players even have starting lineup potential, especially as the Bruins (15-2 overall, 4-2 Pac-12) look to rebound from Monday’s loss. They welcome Washington (12-5, 2-4) and Washington State (14-5, 3-3) to Pauley Pavilion this weekend.
“I could care less who starts,” Coach Cori Close said during media availability on Wednesday. “I want to start based on the preparation and the matchup, but to have that spark coming off the bench is really amazing. A strength of our team is how deep we are but how capable we are with people coming off the bench to make significant contributions.”
Close said Jaquez or Lina Sontag, who had four steals, two blocked shots and three assists against Utah, could work themselves into the starting lineup soon, but she did not disclose whether it would happen this weekend or not.
No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball is coming off an overtime loss to No. 16 Utah, but returns to Pauley this weekend to host Washington and Washington State. pic.twitter.com/eDd5hRO5Cv
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) January 24, 2024
“My job is just to help the team win,” Jaquez said. “And whatever that is, whether that’s rebounding, scoring, assisting, I’m just gonna do whatever I can to help the team. It’s really important that I understand that and the team knows that.”
The amount of talent on the nationally ranked team allows Close and her staff to mix and match starting lineups depending on the strengths of the opponent. But one thing that Close weighs heavily is passion plays like the one that gave Jaquez a bruised chin.
Passion plays, or hustle plays as they’re sometimes called, are moments that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. The categories include out-of-area rebounds and box-outs. The Bruins aim for 75 of those plays per game and the player who has the most gets recognized.
“We give all we have,” Londynn Jones said. “That comes with the game. We make smart plays, we get deflections, we get each other going, out-of-area rebounds. That gets each other going. Passion and effort is really all it’s going to take and everything else will fall into place.”
Jones broke into the starting lineup at the beginning of this season and has started in all but four games. She’s averaging 12.2 points per game and doesn’t shy from long-range shots – her 37.1% mark from behind the arc is the best on the team – but Close said she’s urging her to channel her defensive skills, too.
Washington has lost five of its last six games going into Friday’s game in Westwood. Washington State, which received votes in this week’s AP Top 25 poll, is on a three-game win streak and is slated to play the Bruins on Sunday.
UCLA has been focusing on taking away 3-point opportunities this week after allowing Utah to shoot 13 for 28 from deep in the 94-81 loss.
“Truth is truth. And truth gets revealed every game if you’re willing to look at it,” Close said. “If you really want to be a winner and a champion, you want to be coached hard every game no matter what. But obviously their hearts are a little softer and ears are a little bigger after a disappointing loss.”
No. 2 UCLA (15-2, 4-2) VS. WASHINGTON (12-5, 2-4)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV: Pac-12 Network