The second-best team in the nation spent the day before its biggest game of the season embracing tradition with something its players have done regardless of ranking or the wins under their belt.

Cori Close was already planning how the Bruins would celebrate ahead of their top-six game against the Huskies.
“We had said in advance, ‘When we win there will be no dancing around,’” said the UCLA women’s basketball’s coach.

Coach Cori Close reiterated a common phrase after her team’s historic win over then-No. 6 Connecticut.
“The work done in the dark always eventually gets revealed in the light,” Close said.

This post was updated Nov. 28 at 9:13 p.m.
As the game tipped off just prior to noon, the sideline sections of Pauley Pavilion were near full capacity.

This post was updated Nov. 25 at 2:20 p.m.
Niagara faced a significant height disadvantage heading into the contest. 
Its tallest player measured in at 6-foot-2, a mark that UCLA boasts seven players at or above on its own roster, with its towering center – sophomore Lauren Betts – coming in at 6-foot-7.

This post was updated Nov. 24 at 7:47 p.m.
Two seasons ago, UCLA blew a halftime lead to Connecticut.
The Huskies were ranked No. 3 in the nation in that 2021 contest, and they turned the halftime deficit into a double-digit win over an unranked Bruin squad.

No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball (4-0) is set to travel to the Cayman Islands after a four-game sweep at home. After overcoming unranked teams in Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins will face No.