UCLA Dominates Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Honors

Here are the UCLA Bruins who received postseason honors from the Big Ten for their contributions this season.

Head Coach Cori Close - Big Ten Coach of the Year

Close earned her first Big Ten Coach of the Year Award for guiding UCLA to an incredible season in just its second year in the conference. The award eluded her last season, even as she captured national Coach of the Year honors from the Associated Press, USBWA, WBCA, and the Naismith Award.

She's the only UCLA women's basketball coach to amass at least 300 career wins, and the team has played its way to its best season under her watch, fully in the mix for a national title.

Center Lauren Betts - Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten (coaches & media), Big Ten All-Defense

Betts has been UCLA's star player all season, and the conference has rewarded her for it. She takes home her first Big Ten Player of the Year Award, along with her second straight Defensive Player of the Year award and first team all-conference and All-Defense honors.

The senior led the Bruins with 16.3 points per game while snagging 232 total rebounds and blocking 54 shots. It's not quite the record-setting season she had as a junior, but productive nonetheless.

Forward Angela Dugalic - Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year

Angela Dugalic becomes the second straight Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year for the Bruins, joining Janiah Barker as UCLA sweeps the award in its first two seasons as a member. A former starter, the forward was relegated to the bench this year and averaged a career-high 9.1 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 52.1% from the floor.

Guard Kiki Rice - First Team All-Big Ten (media & coaches), Big Ten All-Defense

Rice was the other star, drawing the public eye to UCLA. The Bruins' point guard is an All-Conference player for the fourth year in a row and an All-Defense player for the second time. Rice was second on the team in scoring (15.2), rebounds (6.2), assists (4.4), and steals (1.5) per game.

Guard Gabriela Jaquez - Second Team All-Big Ten (coaches and media)

The Big Ten coaches gave Jaquez an Honorable Mention last season and now bumped her up to the second team. The younger sister of former UCLA men's basketball star Jaime Jaquez, Gabriela was the third-most productive player on the team, averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, two assists, and 1.1 steals.

She started every game this season, playing over 30 minutes a night, and rewarded the Bruins with career-bests across the board, especially as a three-point shooter and from the foul line.

Guard Gianna Kneepkens - Second Team All-Big Ten (media), Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (coaches)

Second team All-Big Ten isn't bad for a transfer who spent four years in the PAC-12 and Big 12 with Utah. Kneepkens didn't have to do as much at UCLA with the talent around her, but she still made major contributions as a full-time starter and one of the team's top scorers.

Forward Sienna Betts - Big Ten All-Freshman (coaches and media)

The younger Betts made quite a contribution in her debut season at UCLA, appearing in 19 games and averaging 6.8 points and four rebounds while playing around 15 or 16 minutes. She was the seventh option off the bench, but it's incredibly rare for a freshman to carve out a role on a veteran team with this much talent.

Guard Charlisse Leger-Walker - Sportsmanship

Leger-Wlaker is another transfer who made an impact on the UCLA women's team, starting all 29 games after playing four yearsat Washington State. Like Kneepkens, she entered the lineup as a scorer but did not need to do nearly as much with this UCLA team.

She still contributed well, finishing with similar numbers to Sixth Player of the Year, Angela Dugalic. But above all, Leger-Walker has been recognized for her leadership.

to do nearly as much with this UCLA team. She still contributed well, finishing with similar numbers to Sixth Player of the Year, Angela Dugalic. But above all, Leger-Walker has been recognized for her leadership.

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