UCLA women’s basketball must restock roster after title

Win a championship, restock the roster.

The former made the latter significantly easier for UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close in the hours before the transfer portal opened Monday.

“I did say to my mom,” Close cracked Sunday, only minutes after winning the program’s first NCAA title, “the transfer portal just got easier.”

Close said over the weekend that she expected to add five transfers. Plenty of high-level talent will be needed to fortify a roster that is losing its top six players to the WNBA draft.

Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalic and Charlisse Leger-Walker combined to average 75.7 points, 32.9 rebounds and 20.3 assists per game last season. Those numbers represented 90.2% of the team’s scoring, 77.6% of its rebounding and 92.7% of its assists.

The six returning players include forward Timea Gardiner, who sat out the season while recovering from knee surgery, and forward Sienna Betts, who was a key reserve after returning in December from a lower left leg injury. Both players will presumably seize starting spots next season.

“Sienna just continues to grow,” Close said late last month. “Her basketball IQ is amazing.”

Gardiner, who averaged 7.6 points while making 39.5% of her 3-pointers during UCLA’s Final Four run a year ago, recently told the California Post that she was looking forward to trying to sustain the team’s elite status.

“There’s big pieces leaving,” Gardiner said, “and I think it’s going to be really exciting to paint the canvas for next year, it’s kind of a blank picture, and so I’m excited to just continue deepen my relationships with the girls who are returning next year and just really still continuing the culture that this incredible senior group has built.”

The cupboard isn’t exactly bare given the tantalizing talent left. Gardiner, Betts and Amanda Muse were McDonald’s All-Americans. Guard-forward Lena Bilic was trusted enough to get some key minutes during the Bruins’ 79-51 victory over South Carolina in the championship game.

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“Lena has shown amazing segments of what you can expect from the future,” Close said last month, “both on offense and on defense — fearlessness, right, hitting those shots when she comes in.”

Late in the Bruins’ Sweet 16 victory over Minnesota, there was a glimpse into the team’s future. Sienna Betts, Muse, Bilic and Christina Karamouzi Siegel played together alongside Leger-Walker.

“I think all of those players that are returning, including Timea and Amanda, they’ve been methodical about going, what does it look like for me to add value to the team today, and how can I help it grow me for my future?” Close said. “That’s been a hard thing to do throughout the year, but that growth mindset that they have chosen will pay dividends.”

The returners will be joined by Somto Okafor, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Barcelona who originally committed to Arizona before backing out after a coaching change. In an indication of Okafor’s talent level, she was also recruited by South Carolina.

But there remains plenty of work to be done in filling out the roster.

Close and her staff will spend the next few weeks balancing the need to celebrate their first championship with securing the players who could pursue their next one.

After a triumphant return to campus late Sunday night, the team is scheduled to celebrate with fans Wednesday evening inside Pauley Pavilion. Admission is free for fans who RSVP, with doors to the arena opening at 5 p.m.

It will be a joyous occasion as well as a reminder that the clock is ticking. While the team’s title will last forever, the transfer portal closes April 20.