Ranking the biggest moments in 2020 for the UCLA and USC women’s basketball teams.
1. Jan. 17: USC ends UCLA‘s undefeated season with a 70-68 win in double overtime. Forward Alissa Pili has 19 points and 17 rebounds and the decisive three-point play with 27 seconds remaining to stop No. 7 UCLA’s school-record 16-game winning streak to start the season.
2. Dec. 6: UCLA beats Arizona State for Cori Close’s 200th career win. The head coach is the third in program history with 200 wins and has achieved the mark with the best winning percentage.
3. Nov. 13: Michaela Onyenwere is named preseason AP All-American. The UCLA forward is only the second player in program history with the honor, joining Maylana Martin (1999-2000).
4. March 3: Alissa Pili wins Pac-12 freshman of the year, becoming the fourth USC player to win the award, joining such elite company as Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson. Pili is also the only freshman named to the conference’s 15-player All-Pac-12 team that includes UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere and Japreece Dean.
5. March 12: The NCAA cancels all postseason events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing UCLA from playing in the NCAA tournament and trying to advance to its fifth straight regional semifinal and USC from playing in the WNIT.
6. Feb. 7: UCLA beats Stanford in Maples Pavilion and ends Stanford’s 16-game home winning streak. The 79-69 win over the No. 6 Cardinal is Cori Close’s 100th conference win.
7. March 7: UCLA loses to Stanford 67-51 in the Pac-12 semifinals, falling short of the final for the fourth straight year after making it to the semifinal for the fifth consecutive season. The Bruins are held to a season low in scoring.
8. Feb. 14: USC upsets No. 11 Oregon State 72-66 for its second win over a top-15 opponent.
9. April 17: The Chicago Sky selects Japreece Dean 30th overall in WNBA draft. The third-round draft pick is UCLA’s 13th in program history.
10. Nov. 9: USC pauses preseason workouts because of a positive COVID-19 test. After a quarantine period, the Trojans have one week of practice before their season opener against Loyola Marymount, which they win 85-55 on Nov. 25.
