Former Bruin Wins NCAA Title Bet, Makes Former Gamecock Wear UCLA Gear to WNBA Opener
Two Atlanta Dream teammates, Jordin Canada and Allisha Gray, made a bet on which of their former teams would win the women’s basketball NCAA title in April. Canada played for UCLA for all four seasons of her career from 2014-18. Cori Close, who led UCLA to the NCAA title this season, took over as head coach in 2011, so Canada has close ties to the championship coach.
Mar 25, 2017; Bridgeport, CT, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Jordin Canada (3) returns the ball against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half in the semifinals of the Bridgeport Regional of the women’s 2017 NCAA Tournament at Webster Bank Arena. UConn defeated UCLA 86-71. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports Meanwhile, Gray played the third and final season of her collegiate career at South Carolina.
She played under current head coach Dawn Staley during the 2016-17 season. As a Bruin and a Gamecock, Canada and Gray went head-to-head once on Dec. 18, 2016.
Then-No. 6 South Carolina ultimately defeated then-No. 9 UCLA 66-57, and Canada fouled out of the game.
Before fouling out, Canada, who was UCLA’s leading scorer that season, scored a team-leading 15 points. Gray scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds in 23 minutes for the Gamecocks. Now, Canada and Gray are teammates on the Dream and former top-five WNBA Draft picks.