LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team gets its first real test Thursday.
The No. 10 Bruins host former Pac-12 rival Arizona in their first matchup against a Power Four nonconference opponent.
Led by Sienna Betts’ career-high 17 points and a stellar defensive fourth quarter, UCLA hammered UC Irvine 78-42 last Thursday. The Bruins forced 20 turnovers and held the Anteaters scoreless in the fourth quarter.
North Carolina transfer Elina Aarnisalo, who left UCLA after her freshman season and has returned as a junior, added 14 points with five assists and five rebounds.
UCLA (2-0) will be without Aarnisalo, who is is averaging 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, for two games. The point guard will play for the Finnish national team in a pair of matchups against Lithuania on Thursday and Sunday before returning to Westwood.
Aarnisalo’s absence is compounded by injuries to sophomore guard Christina Karamouzi, who has yet to play this season with a hip injury, and sophomore wing Lena Bilic, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
As a result, Close has had to call occasionally on freshman guards Somto Okafor and Lina Jerkovic. Okafor had six points and five rebounds against UC Irvine, with three steals in the final four minutes of the first quarter.
“I’m surprised with (Jerkovic and Okafor),” Close said. “They are really smart. I didn’t think they were going to pick up things this quick. They are a lot more poised than I thought they were. They are handling the freshman rigor better than I anticipated.”
The Bruins will be tasked with slowing down Arizona’s Breanna Williams. The 6-foot-2 Maryland transfer is averaging a team-high 17.5 points and shooting 65% in the Wildcats’ two wins.
Being strong defensively is a point Close will continue driving if UCLA hopes to succeed this season. That means coming up with stops and, more specifically, kills – UCLA’s unofficial metric defined as an opponent being stopped on three consecutive possessions.
Close emphasized wanting her team’s identity forged in successfully contesting 3-point shots, defending ball-screen coverage, working to connect on help-side defense and maintaining a level of assertiveness.
Arizona, which opened the season with an 84-69 victory over Stanford, will enter Pauley Pavilion having shot 48.7% from the field and 37% from 3-point range. The Wildcats defeated Iona 74-61 on Monday.
Arizona (2-0) at UCLA (2-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/uclabruins.com/listen-live