How to Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament -- 2-Seed UCLA Bruins vs. 15-Seed Cal Baptist Lancers

Mar 24

It’s tournament time for one UCLA basketball team at least, which means we can now fully turn our attention to the women’s team, which mostly did what it was supposed to this year. I say mostly because Coach Cori Close’s best team yet still managed to come up short in winning the Pac-12 regular season title and the Pac-12 Tournament, which isn’t a great look especially considering Southern Cal under their new head coach was able to do at least one of those this year. I’ve mentioned multiple times here that I have my doubts when it comes to Coach Close’s ability to get a victory when she doesn’t have a talent advantage, and the last few months have done little to disabuse me of that notion (that said, to her credit, there is no shame in finishing as high as the Bruins did considering how absolutely stacked the Pac-12 was at the top).

But those questions will likely be put off until next week, because this week the Bruins host the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament against a group of teams that they do have an advantage over, starting with the Cal Baptist Lancers. On paper, the Lancers seem like a solid team, having won the WAC regular season by a few games and then holding on in the WAC Championship game over Stephen F. Austin to claim their first NCAA Tournament bid (the Lancers moved up to Division I in 2020 I believe, as they won the WAC Tournament in 2021 but were ineligible for postseason play still). Cal Baptist finished the season 28-3, which is really good, but the best team they played this season was maybe San Diego State, which was fine but hardly a juggernaut team.

Cal Baptist will be led by the WAC Player of the Year Chloe Webb, who averaged 21.1 points per game to go with 8.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The transfer from UC Irvine has improved her game this past year, with a jump in volume leading to a massive 10-point increase in her PPG from last year. She can beat you in a variety of ways as well, shooting well from three at a decent clip while also doing a good job of drawing fouls close to the basket. Webb will be helped out by a plethora of guard options, from Filipa Barros (12.3 PPG) to Anaiyah Tu’ua (22 points in the WAC Final).

If there is an exploitable weakness for Cal Baptist, it is that they are a very small team; the Lancers only have three players on their roster listed as a forward and no one listed above 6’3”. Compared to UCLA, which has height and length in abundance, and there is a pretty clear mismatch in talent here. If you’re UCLA, the gameplan seems pretty simple: feed Lauryn Betts inside early and often, and use your size to your advantage. Cal Baptist will likely give a good fight - their comeback in the WAC Tournament Finals speaks to a team that will not quit - but this should be a game UCLA cruises through.

This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. Cal Baptist Lancers game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:

2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament #2 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (25-6) vs #15 Seed Cal Baptist Lancers (28-3)

Teams: #2 Seed UCLA Bruins (25-6) vs. #15 Seed Cal Baptist Lancers (28-3)
When: 6:30 pm PT, Saturday, March 23, 2024
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN and the ESPN App
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast

Go Bruins!!!

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