Cori Close's relishes 15-year journey to national championship with UCLA
UCLA women's basketball coach Cori Close led her team to a national championship after 15 years, overcoming past heartbreak.
PHOENIX ― UCLA coach Cori Close walked into the Bruins ' postgame presser drenched, wearing ski goggles and a hat on her head, with a basketball net still around her neck. After 15 years, Close was a champion. As Lauren Betts , Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez sat next to Close, answering questions about how UCLA defeated South Carolina 79-51 in the national championship game , she looked on with pride.
Still, there were moments she looked down at the table, reading the stats and shaking her head in amazement. The 51 points the Gamecocks scored were the seventh fewest in a championship game. South Carolina's 29% shooting percentage from the field was the third-lowest in a title bout.
The Bruins allowed only 95 points combined in their final two games of the season, the second-fewest ever by a national championship team in the Final Four. UCLA is also the first team (men's or women's) to hold its opponent under 30. 0% shooting from the field and less than 15% from 3-point range in a national title game.
Still, Close didn't want credit for the coaching masterclass she displayed in Mortgage Matchup Center Sunday, April 5. "It's not about me. It's about watching these incredible young women be dream chasers, to watch them grow in ways that they will remember, and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives," Close said.
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