Recapping everything Cori Close said after UCLA extends undefeated season streak to 17 games

Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins continued their unbeaten start to the season on Wednesday night, defeating the Penn State Lady Lions 83-67 at Walter Pyramid. Four players scored in double figures for the Bruins, who improved their record to 17-0.

Lauren Betts wreaked havoc against the Penn State defense, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to record her 10th double-double of the season. She also tied a school record with a career-high seven blocks. Close praised her star player in the postgame press conference.

"I do congratulate Lauren. I think she covered for a lot of things," Close said (0:19). "I didn’t think we played well enough collectively to win, but Lauren really covered for us, especially on the defensive end."

"Being an anchor of who we could go inside, I thought, covered for actually how poorly we played so credit to her," she added.

Cori Close lauded Betts for her stellar play on the defensive end.

"Obviously, her blocks are a big deal, but I like it even more when she switches out on those guards and they think they can take her to the rack, and she never gets beat. That’s a huge piece for us," she further said.

Close wasn't happy with her team's performance despite the Bruins having 27 assists and just eight turnovers. She praised Penn State for putting up a tough fight against UCLA.

"Credit to Penn State, I thought they were the aggressors," Close said (0:59). "I thought we were the aggressor in the second quarter and that was it the rest of the game. Their players played the kind of shots that they wanted to get. I thought they did a really good job."

Close was asked to share her reaction to the Bruins playing their first game since the fires engulfed the city of Los Angeles.

"This has been a really hard week," Close said (1:47). First of all, a great humility and thanks to our incredible first responders and all of the people who have been fighting for us to have a chance to rebuild our city."

"It has really affected our players. There’s been some real anxiousness and difficulty. We get to play and there has to be this sense of gratitude that we get to continue to compete and master our craft."

Cori Close credits defense for UCLA turnaround after sluggish 1st quarter

The top-ranked UCLA Bruins got off to a sluggish start against the Penn State Lady Lions, with Cori Close's team trailing 19-17 after the first quarter. The UCLA coach was asked by a reporter about the adjustments she had to make the rest of the game to turn the tide in the Bruins' favor.

"Stops. As soon as we started getting stops. We weren’t having a huge problem scoring, but we were just trading baskets. Then in the second quarter, we got really after it," Close said (6:35).

UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close yells down court during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette on Jan. 7, 2025. Photo: Imagn

UCLA picked up its defensive intensity in the second quarter, allowing just 11 points. The Bruins outscored Penn State by 16 points during that period to take a commanding 44-30 lead at the break. They never looked back after that to record their sixth win against a Big Ten opponent.