UCLA Women's Basketball: How Charisma Osborne, Cori Close Sparked 3rd Quarter Run Vs Huskies

While your UCLA Bruins men's program looks prepared to beat the favored USC Trojans on the road tonight (the Bruins are currently leading 63-45 with 2:15 left in regulation), they seem like, at best, a bubble team for March Madness this spring.

The UCLA Bruins women's team, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the best clubs in the nation.

To wit, UCLA survived a miserable field goal shooting night against the Washington Huskies to vanquish their Pac-12 nemesis earlier this week.

The Bruins built up a narrow first half lead with a slick third quarter run, riding a 23-15 tear that was abetted in large part by fifth-year guard Charisma Osborne, who made two tough triples in that span.

“I was just trying to attack the basket,” Osborne said in her postgame presser, per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “Coach Cori was really trying to encourage me and the rest of the guards to …”

“Encouraging is a nice way of saying it,” Close, sitting next to Osborne, butted in.

“You were though,” Osborne said. “I was just trying to attack the basket. Focusing on attacking and finishing through contact. I think that helped me so much to be able to finish those shots.”

UCLA made just 30.7% of its 75 field goal tries. Osborne was the team's high scorer, scoring 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor (3-of-7 from deep).