As the UCLA beat reporter for the Southern California News Group, I was responsible for covering all UCLA athletics including games, features and breaking news. I covered the Bruins’ football, men’s and women’s basketball, gymnastics, softball and baseball programs along with the university’s recent hire of a new athletic director. My game stories were published online and in print through both the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Daily News among smaller outlets owned by SCNG.
No. 3 UCLA gymnastics upset by No. 11 Washington, despite Kramer’s first perfect-10
First came the wobble, then the loss of concentration, and then the eventual step off the beam. With three falls and three scores of 9.100, the UCLA gymnastics team recorded its season-low score in the event and fell behind Washington with just one event remaining: floor. The No. 3 Bruins needed a miracle.
UCLA women’s basketball runs past Washington State
Less than five minutes before UCLA women’s basketball tipped off against Washington State Sunday afternoon, Bruins’ head coach Cori Close received the news that legendary Lakers’ player Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, had passed away in a helicopter accident earlier that morning. She made the decision not to tell her players. So, while the world of basketball began to mourn and process the loss of one of its greats, the No. 10 Bruins played on as if it was just another game. After two straight games of overtime, the Bruins finally got a win in which they had room to breathe. Yet, after learning of the passing of a man who had been more than an idol to so many of them, the Bruins were lost for words.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s shot lifts UCLA men’s basketball into first-place tie in Pac-12
There were less than 16 seconds left in the game. UCLA was tied with Arizona State with an opportunity to move into first place in the Pac-12 Conference. With the seconds winding down, UCLA guard Tyger Campbell brought the ball up the floor, then found an open Jaime Jaquez Jr. above the arc. Without a moment to think, Jaquez caught Campbell’s pass, took one dribble to his left and released a 3-point shot. Swish. The freshman buried it from the top of the key with 0.6 seconds left to give the Bruins a 75-72 victory and a share of first place in the Pac-12 on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA shooting woes return, winning streak ends at USC
A conference-leading win streak capped. The top seed in the Pac-12 Tournament gone. “Seven games in a row we didn’t lose,” UCLA junior guard Chris Smith said. “I don’t recall how this feels. I don’t like it.” It’s been a month and a day since the Bruins lost a game. Saturday’s 54-52 loss at USC not only ends UCLA’s hot streak, but pushes the team down to the second seed in next week’s conference tournament.
UCLA men’s basketball secures first-place Pac-12 standing with win over Arizona
UCLA’s point guard had missed all 10 of his attempted shots in the first 39 minutes of the game. The Bruins were tied with Arizona with less than a minute left. The team’s share of Pac-12 first-place standing was on the line. UCLA’s six-game win streak was on the line. A bye into the Pac-12 Tournament was on the line. The Bruins needed this win.
UCLA women’s basketball runs past Utah for second place in Pac-12
After the final buzzer echoed and the teams shook hands, UCLA senior point guard Japreece Dean gathered her team at center court. The last time she did this, she called out her teammates for not playing well in the Bruins’ loss to Oregon on Feb. 14. But on Sunday afternoon, she had a different message. She waited till everyone got close before waving a rally flag and jumping in celebration in the middle of their huddle. In the senior’s final regular season home game at Pauley Pavilion, her team played its hearts out to reach the program’s highest seeding in the Pac-12 Tournament in the past nine years, and the highest in Coach Cori Close’s tenure.
Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor walks away with Rose Bowl loss and heavy decision still at hand
The mob of reporters followed his every move. But still Jonathan Taylor remained unfazed. If he was disappointed or sad or frustrated or mad, he didn’t show it. Instead, he embraced his teammates and acknowledged Wisconsin fans as they called out to him from the stands above on his walk off the Rose Bowl field. The loss surely stings, as it will for some time, but the junior has a heavy decision to make within the upcoming weeks: whether to forgo his senior season with the Badgers and declare for the NFL draft or return to Madison for one final year.