UCLA players give HC Cori Close surprise shower in locker room after massive Big Ten title win over arch rival USC

UCLA coach Cori Close celebrated her team's Big Ten Conference title in style with her players. The No. 2 seeded Bruins beat the top-seeded USC 72-67 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, and Close was given a surprise water shower from her players in the locker room during the celebrations.

The UCLA women's basketball Instagram account posted the video of Close getting drenched by the Bruins stars, being sprayed by water bottles and then soaking in the emotion.

UCLA's Lauren Betts scored a team-high 17 points, while adding five rebounds and two assists in the Big Ten Tournament final. Her teammates Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones contributed with 13 points each.

Meanwhile, USC superstar JuJu Watkins recorded a game-high 29 points, with six rebounds and two assists. However, she lacked support from her teammates apart from Kiki Iriafen who scored 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.

The Bruins overturned a 13-point deficit to get the win over USC. UCLA (31-2) also committed 24 turnovers, but scored 22 points in the last 20 minutes of game time to seal the victory.

Close has been the coach at UCLA since 2011. This is her first Big Ten Conference Tournament title since taking over the Bruins. She previously led the team to the WNIT championship in 2015.

UCLA HC Cori Close looking forward to NCAA Tournament after Big Ten Tournament success

UCLA Bruins HC Cori Close - Source: Imagn

In her post-game press conference, UCLA coach Cori Close detailed the statistics behind the Big Ten Tournament final.

“If you told me we were going to turn the ball over 24 times and get outrebounded by 11 and still win, I would have told you you were crazy."

She also hoped that the Bruins can take some confidence from this success into the NCAA Tournament:

"As good as we’ve been, we’re not as confident as you would think."

Close's UCLA has lost just two games this season, and now stands a good chance of getting the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.