LONG BEACH — Cori Close became the winningest UCLA women’s basketball coach in program history on Saturday afternoon when the Bruins beat Long Beach State, 102-51, at the Walter Pyramid.
Close now has 297 wins in her 14 seasons with UCLA. She surpassed Billie Moore, who coached the Bruins from 1977-1993 and died in 2022 after a battle with multiple myeloma.
“I remember specifically I was playing at UC Santa Barbara and we were driving down to UCLA playing against a really good Billie Moore team,” Close told reporters Friday. “And I remember thinking like, ‘Wow, she’s it.’”
“It’s with great humility that I have a chance to even coach in the same place, to be talked about in the same language and it gives me a chance to say thank you, Billie – wherever you are. I hope you’re looking down, and we are representing your sacrifice because she did so much for the sport.”
The Bruins got Close her win in dominant fashion, using a significant height advantage and stacking up a 28-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Forward Angela Ducalić had an efficient night of shooting, making all seven of her shots by halftime for 16 points. She released the ball with ease wherever she was on the court and swished a deep 3-pointer from behind the top of the key late in the second quarter.
She credited the work of the coaching staff, specifically Soh Matsuura, for developing her efficiency.
“I think we have the best coaching staff in the nation,” Dugalić said. “I’ve been here for longer than the rest of my teammates, so I’ve known them for like, how they work and all this stuff and I think Cori has selected some amazing, amazing people with her, and she knows how she works with them, and it’s been great.”
The 6-foot-4 Dugalić finished with a career-high 22 points. UCLA also got double-doubles from 6-7 center Lauren Betts (22 points and 10 rebounds) and 6-4 forward Janiah Barker (19 points and 10 rebounds).
Jada Crawshaw led Long Beach State with 19 points and scored 10 of those points in the fourth quarter.
“It felt good in the moment,” Crawshaw said. “What I was really trying to do was just provide for this team what I could give. I saw Kiki (Rice) come and guard me and I was like, ‘Oh my God, is this what it’s like?’”
With Long Beach not having a player taller than 6-3 on its roster, the Bruins had a physical advantage and Betts was able to disrupt or block shots in her signature way, even when LBSU opted for mid-range shots.
Both of Betts’ parents attended Long Beach State – her mom played volleyball and her dad played basketball.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” Betts said with a smile. “(My parents) were texting me before the game. They were like, ‘We want you to win but, like, don’t embarrass them.’ I just think it’s super cool and I’m really excited to be here. Love Long Beach.”
The Bruins have been emphasizing rebounding throughout the week after Washington beat them on the boards in their Big Ten-opening victory last week. UCLA won that battle 51-22 against a Long Beach team that played scrappy down low.
“I thought we (played gritty) in the first half and especially the first quarter,” Close said. “I think sustaining that over time has got to be something that we continue to get better at. I really was challenging them.”
LBSU had a coaching history moment of its own at halftime when it honored Joan Bonvicini – a Hall of Fame coach at the school who compiled a 325-71 overall record in her 12 years with the program.
Eleven of Bonvicini’s 12 teams finished the season ranked in the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll and two of her teams reached the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four.
“Having her here, it also provides a different lens for me,” current Long Beach State coach Amy Wright said. “I’m living in the now and the recent past where Joan’s lived it.
“It’s important to tell Cori congratulations. That’s a huge milestone and hopefully it’s celebrated years from now. But it’s also important to have Joan here for me to understand as a young coach what it’s like and give me a different lens and give these young women a different lens of what they’re walking into.”
