The 2023–24 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins were led by 13th-year head coach Cori Close. They played their home games at Pauley Pavilion and competed as members of the Pac-12 Conference. This was also the last season for UCLA played in the Pac-12 Conference before moving to the Big Ten Conference on August 1, 2024.
Prior to the season, the Bruins secured the signing of highly touted center Lauren Betts, the former top-ranked high school recruit in the country who was transferring to UCLA from conference rival Stanford after one season in which she received limited playing time.
Going into the Cayman Islands classic, the Bruins were ranked Number 2 in the AP poll, the highest in program history.Kensing, Kyle Nov. 20 Women's AP Top 25: UCLA-UConn Top 10 Showdown Looms In A Big Week. FloHoops, November 20, 2023 They defeated the Paige Bueckers-led UConn Huskies in that tournament.Kiki Rice leads hot-shooting No. 2 UCLA to a win over No. 6 UConn in Cayman Islands Los Angeles Times, November 24, 2023 The Bruins finished the season with a 27–7 record, including 13–5 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and they were eliminated in the sweet sixteen by LSU.
Previous season UCLA finished the season 27–10, 11–7 in Pac-12 play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fifth seed in the Pac-12 tournament, they defeated Arizona State in the first round, Arizona in the quarterfinals, and Stanford in the semifinals before losing in the championship game to Washington State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a 4th seed in the Greenville Regional 1, where they defeated Sacramento State in the first round and Oklahoma in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019, where they lost to 1-seed South Carolina.
Offseason Departures UCLA departures Brynn Masikewich 5 F 6'3" Senior Calgary, AB Graduated; transferred to DePaul Gina Conti 10 G 5'11" GS Grove City, OH Graduated
Incoming UCLA incoming transfersNameNumPos.HeightYearHometownPrevious school Lauren Betts 51 C 6'7" Sophomore Centennial, CO Stanford
Recruiting
Recruiting class of 2024
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Pac-12 regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Pac-12 women's tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA women's tournament
Source:
Rankings
*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same.^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.
Awards and honors
February 29, 2024 – Coach Cori Close is the recipient of the 2024 WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award March 5, 2024 – Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, and Charisma Osborne named to the All-Pac-12 Team March 5, 2024 – Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team April 15, 2024 – Charisma Osborne is selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the 25th pick in the 2024 WNBA draft
References