After a successful road trip in the Mountain schools, UCLA returns to Westwood to host the Bay Area schools starting with UC Berkeley.

UCLA heads into tonight’s game after sweeping Utah and Colorado during their Mountain road trip. There were a lot of things the Bruins did right and, in the process, discovered a future star who can take over when Monique Billings and Jordin Canada graduate: Michaela Onyenwere.

Usually, freshmen have a difficult time adjusting to college ball seeing as it’s quicker and more aggressive. But Onyenwere has adapted just fine. She’s able to help the defense with rebounds and gives the offense a push with her buckets all over the field. Another freshman who has made an impact is Chantel Horvat. While Horvat hasn’t made a big splash like Onyenwere, Cori Close see her potential by giving her crucial minutes. Crucial minutes that other players are dying for. There’s still more Horvat can work on, but she’s still setting up the framework. If Onyenwere and Horvat can properly develop their game, maybe they can create their own era similar to the Canada/Billings one.

The last time UCLA and UC Berkeley met, the Golden Bears were outmatched by the Bruins. The Bruins defeated the Golden Bears by almost 40 points. That was the first time in six meetings UCLA had won a game in Berkeley. This time, the Golden Bears come down to Westwood. The Bruin defense shut down the Berkeley offense to the point they only shot 26% from the field. From beyond the arc, they were just above 8%. The only numbers that were high were from the charity stripe where they shot 64%. Now, the Bruins look for a repeat and sweep of the season.

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

Go Bruins!