UCLA crosses the Hudson River as their Eastern road trip continues with a stop off in the Bronx to face Fordham after playing Seton Hall in New Jersey on Sunday.

There were moments in the game against Seton Hall where it felt as though the Pirates were going to be another unranked school to defeat UCLA. Thankfully, the Bruins were able to pull it together and take the win after a bad start to their road trip against Oklahoma State.

While Monique Billings recorded the highest points of the game with 17 and six blocks, she did not start. Instead, she entered minutes into the first quarter. Coach Close opted to give freshman Michaela Onyenwere in her first collegiate start. Onyenwere made sure to show Close chose right by scoring 14 points and collecting nine rebounds. This freshman has done nothing but continue to impress. As long as she is developed right, Onyenwere can become a high caliber athlete like teammates Jordin Canada and Billings.

Junior transfer Japreece Dean saw her first action as a Bruin against Seton Hall. Dean had to sit out the first nine games due to the NCAA transfer rules after transferring from Texas Tech last year. In her first 18 minutes, Dean had eight points.

Tonight, the Bruins face another unranked school in Fordham. They seem to have a habit of losing to unranked teams. While Seton Hall didn’t add their name to that list, Fordham could. UCLA just hasn’t developed the consistency they need to considering the talent they have on the team. While Pac-12 play doesn’t start until next week, tonight’s game is the last one before the Bruins open conference play against Stanford and UCLA needs to win to build towards the elite team the world says they should be.

This is your UCLA Women’s Basketball vs. Fordham open thread!


Go Bruins!