No. 10 UCLA Hosts No. 18 Arizona in Ranked, Unbeaten Showdown

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GAME INFORMATION
No. 10 UCLA (13-0, 2-0) vs. No. 18 Arizona (13-0, 2-0)
Date: Sunday, Jan. 5
Time: 12:06 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
Watch: Pac-12 Network
Listen: Live Audio (Play-By-Play: Dave Marcus)
Statistics: Live Stats

BRUINS HOST WILDCATS IN RANKED, UNBEATEN SHOWDOWN

Pauley Pavilion will play host to a battle of two of the final six unbeaten teams in the country, as UCLA (13-0, 2-0) and Arizona (13-0, 2-0) square off on Sunday. UCLA is off to the best start in program history as the team's win over Arizona State (Jan. 3) was the 13th-straight victory to open the year. The win moved the 2019 Bruins past the 1980-81 squad that set the original 12-0 mark. Arizona is also unbeaten this year and has won its last 19 games dating back to the Wildcats' WNIT Championship run last season.

Sunday's clash will be a showcase for some of the top scorers in the Pac-12 Conference. Arizona junior guard Aari McDonald leads the Pac-12 with 20.2 points per game and was the top returning scorer in the NCAA this year. Sophomore forward Cate Reese has increased her scoring output by almost three points from her freshman campaign and enters at 14.5 points per game. UCLA, meanwhile, is the only team with two top-5 scorers in the Conference, as Michaela Onyenwere (20.2 ppg) and Japreece Dean (15.6 ppg) rank second and fifth, respectively. Dean has put up at least 20 points in three-straight games.

The Bruins are riding a 12-game series winning streak over Arizona ahead of the 82nd all-time meeting between the programs. UCLA holds a strong series advantage at 60-21. The Bruins won a 98-93, triple-overtime thriller in the last matchup (Jan. 27) in which Onyenwere went for 28 points and 13 rebounds. Lajahna Drummer tied a career-high with 18 points and grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Bruins hit the road for their first Conference road game of the season, taking on Utah on Friday, Jan. 10 at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The game is slated for a 7:00 p.m. MT / 6:00 p.m. PT tip on Pac-12 Network.

THE STORYLINES

UCLA (13-0) is off to the best start in program history with 13-straight wins to open the season. The Bruins surpassed the 1980-81 squad's original streak of 12-straight wins to start the year with a 68-66 win over Arizona State (Jan. 3).
Junior forward Michaela Onyenwere became the 24th player in UCLA history to register 1,000 career points and record 500 rebounds on Dec. 1 at Virginia (1,129 points, 558 rebounds).
UCLA is in its ninth season under head coach Cori Close, who is 15 wins away from 200 for her career and owns an overall record of 185-99 (.651).
The Bruins have won 69 of their last 77 games at Pauley Pavilion, including their last 11 (8-0 this year). UCLA went 11-5 at home last season.
UCLA established a school record in the win over Loyola Marymount (Nov. 9) with 11 assists in the second quarter. It marked the most assists of any quarter for the Bruins.
In 2018-19, Cori Close led UCLA to its fourth-straight 20-win season and fourth-straight trip to the Sweet 16. UCLA joins a list of eight teams in the NCAA that have made the Sweet 16 each of the past four seasons (Baylor, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon State, South Carolina, Stanford, UConn).

BRUINS IN THE POLLS

UCLA is ranked No. 10 in the most recent Associated Press (AP) Poll (Week 9 - Dec. 30, 2019) and the USA Today Coaches Poll (Week 9 - Dec. 31, 2019).
UCLA was ranked No. 11 in both the Associated Press (AP) and USA TODAY Coaches preseason polls.
The Bruins are one of five Pac-12 teams ranked in both the AP and USA Today Polls.
The Pac-12 Conference boasts four teams in the top-10 in the most recent AP Poll (No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 5 Stanford, and No. 10 UCLA).

NO. 10 UCLA MAKES HISTORY IN WIN OVER ARIZONA STATE

The Bruins earned their place in history after defeating Arizona State, 68-66, and moving to 13-0, sealing the best start to a season in program history. The 2019-20 team surpassed the 12-0 mark set by the 1980-81 Bruins.
Japreece dean led a trio of Bruins in double figures with 23 points and added five assists and three rebounds.
Lindsey Corsaro added 12 points while Charisma Osborne chipped in 10 points (all in the first half).
Lauryn Miller put up eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds, her third 10+ rebound performance in the last four games.

UCLA DOWNS USC TO TIE SCHOOL RECORD

The Bruins defeated USC, 83-59 (Dec. 29) to move to 12-0, tied for the most wins to open a season in program history (1980-81).
Junior Michaela Onyenwere and senior Japreece Dean each notched 21 points in the victory. Onyenwere also grabbed eight boards while Dean dished out eight assists and grabbed three steals.
Charisma Osborne recorded her first-career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. The freshman also added two blocks and two steals in the victory.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES PLUS DEAN BEAT INDIANA

Junior Michaela Onyenwere recorded her third double-double and the 19th of her career with 25 points and 11 rebounds as UCLA improved to 11-0 with a 68-58 win at No. 12/14 Indiana (Dec. 22).
Junior Lauryn Miller posted her fourth double-double of the season and of her career with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior Japreece Dean registered a season-high 24 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

MILLER'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE BEATS BULLDOGS

Junior Lauryn Miller posted her third double-double of the season and in her career to help UCLA improve to 10-0 on the year with a 59-50 win at Georgia (Dec. 19).
Junior Michaela Onyenwere tallied 19 points and nine rebounds for the second straight game.

BRUIN TRIO TAMES THE TIGERSMILLER'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE BEATS BULLDOGS

Junior Lauryn Miller posted her third double-double of the season and in her career to help UCLA improve to 10-0 on the year with a 59-50 win at Georgia (Dec. 19).
Junior Michaela Onyenwere tallied 19 points and nine rebounds for the second straight game.

BRUIN TRIO TAMES THE TIGERS

Michaela Onyenwere (19 pts, 9 rebs) and Japreece Dean (19 pts, 5 asts) helped UCLA improve to 9-0 on the year with a 68-57 victory over Pacific (Dec. 15).
Freshman Charisma Osborne tied her season-high of 17 points and added a personal-best seven rebounds against the Tigers.

ROSENBLUM RETURNS, ONYENWERE KOs CSUN

Michaela Onyenwere (23 pts, 7 rebs) scored over 20 points for the fourth-straight game, leading UCLA to a 58-44 win at CSUN (Dec. 7).
The game marked the return of Ally Rosenblum, who had not played since the 2017-18 season due to an undisclosed injury. Rosenblum finished the game with three points, one rebound, one steal, and one block in 11 minutes of action.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUO TAKES DOWN VIRGINIA

Michaela Onyenwere (27 pts, 11 rebs) and Lauryn Miller (14 pts, 10 rebs) led UCLA to a 73-62 win at Virginia (Dec. 1).
The Bruins also received 12 points and six rebounds from Charisma Osborne and 11 points and three assists from Japreece Dean.

OSBORNE HITS GAME-WINNING 3-POINTER VS. UCF

Her only basket of the game was the biggest as Charisma Osborne drained the eventual-game-winning three-pointer with the shot clock expiring and just 0:53 left to propel UCLA to a 61-56 win over UCF (Nov. 30).
Just two Bruins scored in double-figures, led by Michaela Onyenwere's double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds. Japreece Dean added 19 points and four assists.

DEAN'S TRIPLE-DOUBLE DOOMS YALE

Japreece Dean recorded her first career triple-double, just the eighth in UCLA history, as the Bruins ran over Yale (Nov. 26), 100-65. Dean had 20 points, 10 assists, and a career-high 11 rebounds.
The Bruins had five players in double figures for the only time this season. Joining Dean was Michaela Onyenwere (22), Charisma Osborne (15), Lauryn Miller (14), and Chantel Horvat (11).
The Bruins also made a season-high 10 three-pointers to go with a season-best 29 assists. The 29 assists were the most since UCLA had 29 at Oregon on Feb. 17, 2014. UCLA has only had 29 or more assists on one occasion since 1999 (30 at California on Feb. 19, 2004).

BRUIN TRIO DOWN NORTHERN COLORADO

Natalie Chou led UCLA in scoring for the first time with a season-high 19 points in the blowout win over Northern Colorado (Nov. 22) She also added three rebounds, three assists and two steals against the Bears.
Japreece Dean scored 18 points against UNC. She also tallied seven assists, four boards and two steals.
Lindsey Corsaro registered 16 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals in the win over UNC.

DEAN RETURNS, ONYENWERE CRUSHES LBSU

Michaela Onyenwere scored 27 points, including 14 points in the first period, as No. 11 UCLA cruised to an 86-51 win over Long Beach State (Nov. 14). For her efforts, Onyenwere was named the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week for Nov. 11-17.
The Bruins scored the first 20 points of the game.
Playing in her first game of the season, senior Japreece Dean tallied a career-high 11 assists and added seven points, eight rebounds and one steal vs. the Beach.
Kiara Jefferson scored 13 points and had three steals and three rebounds while Chantel Horvat registered 11 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of action against LBSU.

ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCES AGAINST LMU

All-around performances from several Bruins helped the No. 11 UCLA women's basketball team take down Loyola Marymount 74-52 on Nov. 9.
Lindsey Corsaro matched a career-high of 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting to go along with six assists.
Lauryn Miller collected her first-career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Natalie Chou played a team-high 32 minutes and had five steals and three blocks to go along with 15 points and seven boards.
Chantel Horvat played in her first game since Jan. 11, 2019, and contributed eight points and eight rebounds.

OSBORNE SHINES IN SEASON OPENER

Freshman Charisma Osborne scored a game-high 17 points in her UCLA debut to lead the Bruins to a dominant 85-45 win over Weber State in their season opener on Nov. 5.
Osborne also had five rebounds and four assists.
Three other Bruins scored in double figures: Onyenwere (16), Corsaro (14) and Jefferson (12).
The Bruins also dominated the glass, 48-31, led by Kayla Owens' career-high 13 rebounds.
UCLA improved to 31-15 all-time in season openers.

ALL-PAC-12 SELECTIONS RETURNING

UCLA returns All-Pac-12 honoree Michaela Onyenwere, the team's top returning scorer (18.3 ppg) and rebounder (8.5 rpg). She eclipsed the 30-point mark at Maryland last season, becoming the second Bruin ever (Nikki Blue) to score at least 30 in the Big Dance and propelling UCLA to its fourth-straight Sweet 16.
Lindsey Corsaro made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2018-19. She averaged 7.3 PPG and 4.4 RPG and scored a career-high 18 points vs. Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament.

FRESH FACES

UCLA's top-10 recruiting class made its debut in Westwood in the win over Weber State on Nov. 5, 2019. The highly-touted includes McDonald's All-Americans, Jaden Owens and Charisma Osborne, as well as 6-2 forward Brynn Masikewich (DNP) and defensive stopper Camryn Brown (DNP).
After redshirting due to NCAA transfer rules (Baylor), Natalie Chou finally had an opportunity to contribute on the court. She played 64 career games (21 starts) for the Lady Bears, averaging 5.5 PPG and 2.6 RPG.

PRESEASON LOVE FOR THE BRUINS

UCLA earned recognition in several preseason college basketball magazines. The Bruins were picked 11th by Street & Smith's, 12th by Lindy's Sports and 16th by Athlon Sports. In each of those magazines, Michaela Onyenwere was recognized as a Third-Team All-American.
The Bruins were picked as high as 10th by NCAA.com, which placed four Pac-12 teams in the top-10.

HARD WORK IN THE CLASSROOM

The Bruin women's basketball program notched a 100 percent graduation rate in 2018-19, helping UCLA Athletics tally an all-time high Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 92 percent.

YOU BETTER WATCH OUT

Japreece Dean was named to the Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation's top point guard. A total of 20 point guards were named to the list, five of which came from the Pac-12. This was the most out of any conference in the NCAA. In 2018-19, Dean finished third on the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game and ranked seventh in the Pac-12 in assists per game at 4.9. In the final seven games of the season, she registered 16.7 points and 6.6 assists per outing.
Japreece Dean and Michaela Onyenwere made the Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List. A total of 50 players made the list, which will be trimmed to 30 in early February.
Michaela Onyenwere was one of five forwards from the Pac-12 who earned a spot on the Watch List for the 2020 Cheryl Miller Award, which recognizes the top small forward in the country. Last year, she led the Bruins in scoring (18.3 PPG) and ranked second on the team in rebounds (8.5 RPG). Onyenwere hauled in 4.1 offensive boards – good for second in the Pac-12 and 11th nationally.
Adding to her list of preseason plaudits, Michaela Onyenwere also made the 2019-20 Preseason 'Wade Watch' List, an award given to the best player in women's college basketball. Last season, the award was given to Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon.
Michaela Onyenwere earned a spot on the Women's Preseason Top 30 Watch List on ESPNW for the John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy's®. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
Michaela Onyenwere was selected among the 35 outstanding players by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for its 2019-20 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List. Members of the association's board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the National Player of the Year.

ELITE PROGRAM

UCLA eclipsed the 20-win mark and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season under Cori Close.
The Bruins averaged an astounding 17.3 offensive rebounds per game in 2018-19, ranking first in the Pac-12 and second in the NCAA. Over four of those offensive boards came from Michaela Onyenwere, who was 11th in the NCAA in that category.
UCLA took down seven ranked opponents last year.
The Bruins had two top-10 wins, defeating No. 2 Oregon and No. 9 Maryland.
For the fourth-straight season, UCLA finished fourth or higher in the Pac-12 Conference.

ROAD WARRIORS

UCLA is 4-0 on the road in 2019-20 and has won its last five games on the road. Additionally, UCLA has won seven in a row on the road against unranked teams and two against ranked teams.
UCLA finished 9-3 on the road in 2018-19.
Five of UCLA's nine road triumphs were against ranked opponents.
The Bruins' two top-10 road wins were the most by the program since the 1980-81 season.

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No. 10 UCLA Hosts No. 18 Arizona in Ranked, Unbeaten Showdown

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