UCLA women's hoops earns No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament

Less than an hour after the NCAA Touament field was unveiled, Cori Close gestured at her finger.

Heading into March Madness for the second time as the UCLA women’s basketball coach, she wanted to remember what she had won last year: a WNIT ring.

The Bruins are poised for bigger things this spring, having claimed a No. 3 seed on Monday evening — the same spot it was in when it last appeared in March Madness three years ago. They are set to play No. 14-seeded Hawaii at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Pauley Pavilion, hosting their own appearance in an NCAA Touament for the first time since 1999.

And yet, Close didn’t want to forget last season’s run. After a sixth-place finish in the Pac-12, UCLA won six straight games to end the season, knocking off West Virginia on the road to claim the WNIT title.

“You just have to dig down deep and lea how to win,” Close said. “So many games come down to that one possession, that one box out, that one pass. An experience like the NIT really teaches you about the urgency of those possessions.”

It helps motivate a team in other ways too.

“Not wanting to be there again,” said sophomore guard Jordin Canada, who leads the team with 16.1 points per game.

Many bracket projections had UCLA (24-8) in line for a No. 2 seed, which was granted to fellow Pac-12 teams Oregon State — the conference champion — and Arizona State. But Close emphasized that she’d take matchups over numerical seeding any time, and said she was pleased with the path ahead.

The Bruins will get to play at home, a significant break for a team that is going through finals on an academic quarter system. And, should they beat the Rainbow Wahine (21-10) to start they weekend, they’ll match up against either No. 6-seeded Florida or 11th-seeded Colorado State. That’s arguably a more attractive prospect than facing, say, No. 7-seeded Teessee, which is playing in Tempe and which Close described as “a sleeping giant.”

Of course, other challenges could loom on the horizon.

Out of 34 possible NCAA titles, 18 belong to either the Volunteers or Coecticut. The latter has been the sport’s reigning powerhouse, wiing the last three trophies with the help of superstar forward Breaa Stewart. And who just happens to be the No. 1 seed in the Bridgeport region this year, opposite the Bruins? The Huskies (32-0), whom FiveThirtyEight gives a 70 percent chance of wiing a fourth straight championship.

“I’m not really focused on UCo right now,” Canada said.

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UCLA is more focused on showing that it has recovered from a 69-57 loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 Championship more than a week ago. According to Close, the Bruins had gotten “too high” from their dramatic win over Cal the previous night — one that featured a Kari Korver’s 3-pointer with seven seconds left to force overtime. Against the Beavers, UCLA fell into a 44-17 hole by halftime.

“It definitely humbled us,” Canada said.