The UCLA Bruins open their regular season tonight against the San Jose State Spartans at home in Pauley Pavilion.

UCLA played their only exhibition match against Vanguard where the Bruins easily defeated the Lions 87-40. The beginning was a bit rough until the first timeout when UCLA was in the lead by only two points leading 4-2. That’s all the Bruins needed to get started. In the last five minutes of the of the game, UCLA scored 14 to lead 18-3 at the end of the first. The Bruins started the second quarter a little slow allowing Vanguard to score six the next 11 points. After another timeout, the Bruins went on to complete a 15-0 run. By the half, UCLA was up by 12 points.

The second half was no different with UCLA extending their already extensive lead. While some of the veterans scored some points, it was all the freshmen. 13 points scored in the third quarter were scored by the combo of Chantel Horvat, Lindsey Corsaro, Lauryn Miller and Michaela Onyenwere. Horvat ended the game ended the game with her first career double-double, scoring12 points with 11 rebounds. Miller also scored 12 points. Onyenwere tied for the most points in the game with 14 points along with Monique Billings.

The UCLA freshmen came onto the scene and showed they could keep up with the veterans. In total, all five of them combined for a total of 48 points of the 87. That’s a little over half of the points posted Sunday night by the freshmen.

While the freshmen had a strong debut, the Bruins will need to focus on shooting outside of the arc. In Sunday’s game, UCLA scored 56 of their points inside the arc. They went three quarters without a single three-pointer made until the fourth quarter when Corsaro and Kelli Hayes each made one. Shooting three’s is going to be the biggest task this season. Last season, Kari Korver and Nicole Kornet would be the ones to sink the three’s. Without either of those two, the Bruins need to find another player who can shoot outside of the arc. Those three-pointers will come in handy down the line when games become a lot closer than Sunday’s.

This is your UCLA Women’s Basketball vs. San Jose State open thread!


Go Bruins!