Sweet 16-Bound Bruins!
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2016-17 IN REVIEW SWEET 16-BOUND BRUINS! Men’s Basketball Posts 31-5 Record Women’s Basketball Advances to Second After opening the season with a 13-0 mark, the Bruins soared in the rankings Consecutive Sweet 16 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four seasons The Bruins posted a perfect 16-0 home record and returned to the Sweet 16 The dynamic freshmen duo of Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf and the senior leadership of The tandem of juniors Jordin Canada and Monique Billings along with the hot shooting Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton helped UCLA establish one of college basketball’s of senior Kari Korver helped the Bruins earn back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances most high-octane offense in recent history. for the first time in program history. UCLA went 11-2 in non-conference play and The Bruins’ early-season success was punctuated with a 97-92 victory at No. compiled a 16-0 mark at home (the Bruins will enter 2017-18 with a 29-game home 1-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 3, 2016, UCLA’s first-ever game at the Wildcats’ Rupp winning streak). Arena. That win helped UCLA secure a spot in the national spotlight as the Bruins The Bruins’ 16-0 home record set a school record, while UCLA’s 29-game home jumped to the No. 2 slot in the top-25 rankings. winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the nation (behind Connecticut). Alford established UCLA’s single-season and career records for most three-pointers UCLA’s biggest win of the year came at Stanford in Pac-12 play, as then-No. 15 UCLA made, while Ball set the UCLA single-season mark (and finished No. 2 in the Pac-12 took down No. 8 Stanford, 85-76, on Feb. 6. Canada scored 25 points, Billings had 21 single-season record book) with 274 assists. By season’s end, Ball led the nation in points and 15 rebounds, and Korver totaled 17 points. assists per game (7.6) and total assists. Strong play down the stretch, which included home wins over Oregon, Oregon State The Bruins entered March with a flawless 7-0 February record, winning 10 consecutive and Washington (all NCAA Tournament teams) helped the Bruins secure an NCAA games down the stretch before the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals. Tournament berth and the right to host the first and second rounds. The Bruins opened Convincing wins over No. 14-seed Kent State and No. 6-seed Cincinnati during the with an 83-56 win over Boise State, following that effort with a 75-43 win over Texas first weekend of the NCAA Tournament propelled UCLA into a rematch with Kentucky A&M. UCLA led Connecticut at halftime, 41-38, in a Sweet 16 matchup before falling in the Sweet 16. The Bruins came up short in their third Sweet 16 contest in the last to the Huskies, 86-71. four seasons, dropping an 86-75 decision to the Wildcats. Korver tied UCLA’s career record for most three-pointers made (256) and was second Aaron Holiday played a major role as the nation’s most efficient “sixth man,” while in three-pointers attempted (691) and free throw percentage (.816). Billings set the Thomas Welsh continued to establish his trademark 15-foot jump shot. Both Holiday UCLA single-season record for free throw attempts (242), tied the mark in makes and Welsh averaged in double-figure scoring. (154) and set the record for blocks (66). Her 357 rebounds were second on UCLA’s single-season list, just three behind Denise Curry’s mark of 360 in 1980-81. Freshman Ike Anigbogu provided a valuable boost off the bench, particularly as a much-needed rim protector. Anigbogu finished the season with 35 blocks in 29 Canada became just the sixth Bruin all-time to record 100 or more assists in three games, averaging 13.0 minutes per contest. straight seasons while leading the Pac-12 in assists (7.1 apg) and setting UCLA single- season records for assists (242) and assists per game. She also led the conference in UCLA became one of just six teams to have earned its third trip to the Sweet 16 in assist-turnover ratio (2.66) and steals per game (2.5). four years (along with Arizona, Gonzaga, Kentucky, North Carolina and Wisconsin). The Bruins ended the year with a 15-4 record away from home, including key road wins at The Bruins’ final ranking of No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll was the highest final No. 1-ranked Kentucky in early December and No. 4-ranked Arizona in late February. mark in program history. Four Bruins Selected in NBA Draft Four former UCLA basketball players – Lonzo Ball, TJ 17 school year, was taken No. 36 overall by the Leaf, Ike Anigbogu and Jonah Bolden – were selected Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. in the 2017 NBA Draft on June 22, 2017, hosted at the Anigbogu, a freshman who excelled off the bench in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. 2016-17, rounded out the group of four Bruins as the Ball and Leaf, freshmen at UCLA in 2016-17, were No. 47 overall selection by the Indiana Pacers in the each selected in the first round. Ball was chosen No. 2 second round. overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, while Leaf was taken UCLA has produced 118 all-time NBA Draft picks, No. 18 by the Indiana Pacers. Ball became the highest including nine selections in four seasons under head selection by any UCLA player in the draft since 1979 coach Steve Alford, who will enter his fifth year as (David Greenwood, No. 2 to the Chicago Bulls). UCLA’s head coach in 2017-18. The Bruins have had Bolden, who spent his first two collegiate seasons at least one player chosen in 18 of the last 21 NBA with UCLA before playing in Serbia during the 2016- Drafts (spanning 1997 through 2017). 3 2016-17 IN REVIEW Softball Earns Third Consecutive Trip to Women’s Golf Program Secures Pac-12 Title Women’s College World Series Bruins earned their first conference title since 2006. For the third straight year, UCLA’s softball Behind strong pitching performances team had quite the memorable run from Selina Ta’amilo and Garcia in Game in advancing to the Women’s College 2, the Bruins punched their ticket to World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Oklahoma City with a 1-0 victory. Bruins swept three consecutive games at UCLA made its 27th appearance in the home in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional Women’s College World Series (33rd before hosting No. 12-seed Ole Miss the overall trip to the NCAA Tournament). The following weekend at Easton Stadium. Bruins fell short in Game 1 in Oklahoma Down to their final strike on multiple City, dropping a 2-1 decision to LSU. occasions in Game 1, the Bruins tied the Two days later, the Bruins outlasted game in the seventh and 10th innings Texas A&M in an elimination game, 8-2. before winning the contest, 8-7, in the Kylee Perez and Brianna Tautalafua each 11th, thanks to Madeline Jelenicki’s run- had three hits, while Garcia limited the scoring walk-off single. Rachel Garcia Aggies to one run through six innings The women’s golf team captured its first Pac-12 Conference Championship since struck out a career-high 12 batters in in the circle. Later that day, UCLA lost to 2006, securing its sixth conference title in 2017. The Bruins entered the tournament 11 innings after Ole Miss had overcome No. 6-seed Washington, 1-0, ending the ranked No. 3, nationally, as sophomore Lilia Vu won her unprecedented fourth a 4-0 deficit with a five-run sixth inning. team’s season. tournament in a row to claim medalist honors. UCLA concluded this year’s conference tournament as the only team in red figures at 2-under (862). The Bruins were one of two teams to go on par on the final day of the three-day, 54-hole event at the Sewailo Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz., shooting a 1-under (287). UCLA was 21 shots clear of second-place Colorado, notching the program’s fourth tournament victory of the season. Vu became the first golfer to win four consecutive tournaments, defeating the field by six shots with a three-round total of 209 (-7). The sophomore was even par (72) on the tournament’s final day, making three birdies (on holes five, eight and 15) and three bogeys. Vu became the fifth Bruin golfer to take home medalist honors at the conference championships. Freshman Mariel Galdiano gave the Bruins a 1-2 finish, as she was the only other player under par for the tournament at 1-under (215). The Bruins finished eighth at the NCAA Lubbock Regional, with Vu closing as UCLA’s top finisher at The Rawls Course (Lubbock, Texas). UCLA posted a final-round score of 1-over (289) to finish with a three-round total of 881 (+17). The Bruins closed their 2017 spring campaign ranked No. 5 in the country. Five UCLA Players Chosen in 2017 NFL Draft Men’s Water Polo Makes History With Takkarist McKinley was selected No. 26 overall by the Atlanta Falcons 57-Game Winning Streak Defensive end Takkarist McKinley headlined a After having won the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Championships, the group of five Bruins who were selected in the 2017 UCLA men’s water polo team made history by securing its 52nd NFL Draft.