UCLA’s Cori Close can complete her resume by getting Bruins a championship
PHOENIX — A few years ago, when the gender disparity between the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments was on full display, a group of the most prominent voices in women’s basketball started holding weekly calls about how to push their sport forward. Among those on the calls were South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and UConn’s Geno Auriemma, two of the biggest names in women’s basketball (their recent drama , aside). Then-Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer — their fellow Naismith Hall of Famer — participated, too.
“I don’t know why I was on the call(s),” UCLA coach Cori Close joked Saturday. “But they just let me. ” Close, the 54-year-old who learned under John Wooden and has dedicated her life to women’s basketball, has undoubtedly become one of the sport’s most consistent advocates.
She routinely speaks up and speaks out about growing the game, and takes seriously her role in promoting it. The only thing separating her from the sport’s highest tier — the only thing missing from her resume — is a national championship. But on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, when the Bruins take on Staley’s Gamecocks, Close will have the chance to take home the sport’s grandest prize.
And should the Bruins win, she’d solidify both herself and her program as two of the very best in this era of the sport. “It would mean everything,” star center Lauren Betts said of delivering Close a title. “Not just for her, but for our entire program.
To be here is amazing, but we don’t just want to end here. We want to make sure we finish the season off the right way. “This is a huge opportunity for us.