UCLA Women's Basketball Earns #1 Overall Seed in NCAA Women's Tournament
The Bruins will face the winner of the UC San Diego and Southern First Four game on Friday.
The mood in the Mo Ostin Center was festive this afternoon as UCLA women’s basketball and the Champion of Westwood NIL Collective hosted a Selection Sunday watch party for the UCLA women’s basketball team.
When the Selection Show began, the mood went from festive to joyous.
After winning the Big Ten Tournament title, the UCLA women’s basketball team has earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
The Bruins will play the winner of the UC San Diego Tritons vs. Southern Jaguars who will play a First Four game. The First Four game between UCSD and Southern will take place at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA will then face the winner of the #8 seed Richmond Spiders vs. #9 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second round. The four teams the Bruins could see in a potential Sweet 16 matchup include the #4 seed Baylor Bears, whom the UCLA defeated 72-57 in the Coretta Scott King Classic in New Jersey on Martin Luther King Day back in January, the #5 seed Ole Miss Rebels, the #12 seed Ball State Cardinals and the #13 seed Grand Canyon University Antelopes.
After UCLA’s seed was announced, head coach Cori Close told her players, “You’ve earned it.”
Coach Close also thanked the fans in attendance for supporting the program, and she sent a message to all Bruin fans. “I really want to see Pauley Pavilion sold out for these games!” Close exclaimed.
Some of the players also offered their reactions to the news. “I’m ready to play some games,” said Gabriela Jaquez.
“I’m super excited to play in my first March Madness,” said freshman Elina Aarnisalo.
Angela Dugalić took things more in stride. “I’m just taking it one day and one game at a time,” she said.
Two of the other #1 seeds in the other regionals are South Carolina and Texas.
The final number one seed announced was crosstown rival and Big Ten Tournament runner-up Southern Cal, which received a good round of boos from everyone in attendance. When UNC Greensboro was announced as the Trojans’ first round opponents, the crowd in attendance cheered for the Spartans, hoping for the upset by the number sixteen seed.
The only thing which will definitely not happen is another match between the Bruins and the Trojans for the national championship teams. That’s because UCLA and Southern Cal would meet in the national semifinals if the seeds hold into the Final Four.
Go Bruins!!!
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The reaction of Gabriela Jaquez is my personal favorite.
To share a little insight into the photo, the best camera is the one you have available. I had packed my dSLR along with a point and shoot super zoom. Both cameras use a SD card.
But I managed to realize once I got to Westwood that I had left the battery for the dSLR at home along with the SD card reader I would need to get photos off the card and onto my laptop.
So, for the photo above, I opted for my third best camera -- my cell phone. Why? Because I could get any pics off it much easier than the others by using the internet.
Now, when I shoot photos for TMB, I always shoot in Burst mode. Burst mode lets me shoot photos in rapid succession by holding down a button, helping me get the best shot once the camera has taken it.
Usually, there are a bunch (read: hundreds) of photos to sort through to find the best one, but in this case, it turned out that the best one was actually the first one because it completely captured the joy of the moment. I can't remember ever capturing anything in the moment with the very first photo.
Overall, I think this is the best shot I've taken for TMB or BN since the one I took years ago of Osa Odighizuhwa when the football team was using the intramural field for Spring Practice That shot of Osa has long been my all-time favorite photo I've taken while blogging about the Bruins.
This shot today may finally surpass that one.
I can't wait until Friday! I hope Pauley is rockin' and if all goes well, I truly hope UCLA fans will make the trip to Spokane!
These Lady Bruins are making history, and if they win the Nattie, they will be remembered as the greatest team in the history of UCLA Women's Basketball.
I love everything about this team (except for the turnovers, which can be fixed). I didn't realize this, but several players were ill during the BIG Tourney Championship Game which makes that win all the more amazing!
Hey, we have a Jaquez on the team and Lauren is simply a force. Great guard play, great leadership, great chemistry and heart!!! Plus loads of talent! 💙💛
Go Lady Bruins!!! 💙💛
Bring it Home! 💙💛💙💛