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Gabriela Jaquez

Getting to Candyland, Step by Step: Bruins v Sooners Round of 32

by Krystal Tome 04/13/2023

written by Krystal Tome

It’s a Monday night. The crowd is roaring.

This was an anticipated night for the UCLA Bruins, since it was the night that determined if they would make it to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in four years.

Coach Cori Close emphasized a focus on the pacing of the game against the Oklahoma Sooners. “Oklahoma is one of the most fast-paced teams. A really good offensive team…so there’s a completely different gameplan.”

Camryn Brown (#35) came into the first quarter with a momentous steal, which led to the ball falling out of bounds and being awarded to the Bruins. The first quarter set a precedent for the audience and the team—there were going to be lots of fouls. Because of the Sooners’ offense, it can be presumed that Coach Close was looking for strong defense, which led to fouls by the referees. The Bruins accumulated 18 non-foul turnovers and 29 fouls (12 being in the fourth quarter), while the Sooners’ had 26 fouls (14 in the fourth quarter).

Brown later said that the team should “[slow] down, [have] more composure” for the next game against South Carolina. “We did a really good job of speeding [Oklahoma] up, and our defense was super aggressive,” she expressed, before admitting, “I think we got a little excited after certain stops happened, and our game just sped up.”

All the fouls provided many chances for free throws. Charisma Osborne (#20) made 100% of her free throws (17-17) and Kiki Rice (#1) made 7-8 of her free throws, making this a great night for Bruins at the line. After the game, Osborne shared an anecdote about her record for making (42) free throws in a row during a practice. “One time, I was at L.A. Fitness or something with my dad… and he was like ‘okay, if you make 30 free throws, you get ice cream’ or something like that. 30 in a row. And that was the first time I ever made 30 in a row, probably the first time I ever made 10 in a row. I don’t know what happened; I flipped the switch. Since then, I’ve been pretty good at free throws.”

With this defense, and spectacular offense by Osborne with 36 points that night, the Bruins advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. This win was contested, however, with a close score of 61-59 UCLA in the last five minutes of the game. The final score of 82-73 came with the mentality of “one stop at a time, one score at a time, not thinking too far ahead,” according to Lina Sontag (#21).

This rollercoaster of a game excited a Bruin-filled crowd for what’s to come during the rest of March Madness. Women’s Sports activist and TikTok Creator Audrey DeVaughn (@audreydevaughn) shared some thoughts on the game.

“This was my first UCLA women’s basketball game. It was also [the first game for] the people who I was with… it really showed them that the product of women’s basketball is really good and I’ve been saying that.” She then emphasizes the importance of showing up to women’s sports events. “Until you’re actually at a game it’s like, people don’t internalize it. Especially on my TikTok, a lot of people are like ‘the product’s not good’ and blah blah blah, but I’m like, have you been to a women’s basketball game? Like, no. Once you go, you can see how awesome it is.”

DeVaughn continues by name dropping the team members that she looked forward to watching most. Some of these names included “Kiki Rice, Charisma Osborne, and Gabriela Jaquez. Conti played really [well]. I felt like they worked really well together.”

“Basketball is one of the few sports that you can have different roles on the team, and still be as valuable, so I thought of that especially with Camryn Brown. I saw how, near the end, they were switching her out for offense, defense, offense, defense,” she stated. “So she was less of a scorer, but they needed her on the court for defense. Basketball is a game that can really elevate those types of players.”

“I was impressed by how much team chemistry they had, and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to see them at home, because it was really exciting.”

Although the Bruins ended their March Madness run in the Sweet Sixteen, women’s basketball will be back in Pauley Pavilion in November.

On April 5th, Charisma Osborne and Camryn Brown announced on instagram that they will be using their 5th year of eligibility to continue their journeys as UCLA Bruins.

04/13/2023 0 comments

Arts & Entertainment Campus Culture Sports

Equity and Tenacity on the March Madness Stage: First Round UCLA v Sac State

by Krystal Tome 03/20/2023

written by Krystal Tome

As soon as the NCAA Selection Committee announced that UCLA got the No. 4 seed, the women on the basketball team began preparations. For some of the players, this would be the first March Madness game of their careers, and to be able to play on their home court, surrounded by their friends, families, and fans meant a lot to them.

Freshman Gabriela Jaquez (#23) shared, “I think it’s a really amazing opportunity that we can play here at Pauley Pavilion and have our home crowd here.”

Christeen Iwuala (#22) followed with, “Especially for the fact that something like this is really uncommon, coming in first year, being able to do something so monumental like this, I feel like it’s a really good opportunity that we have.”

Starting their March Madness tournament in Pauley Pavilion, the hype from the crowd, as well as the one-week break since their match in Vegas against Washington State (which took place on March 5th, 2023), helped fuel the fire that went into the game. Notably, the start of the game was full of energy when Gina Conti (#10) scored twice and made a rebound before the seven-minute mark. “I think it’s important for me as a point guard to be aggressive, to collapse the defense, to then kick out for my teammates who were open,” Conti remarks on the goals set in mind coming into a game.

Article Photo Credits: Krystal Tome – Nommo Newsmagazine

After tying once in the first quarter, the Bruins kept the lead, making it up 24 at one point. Some highlights include, Charisma Osborne’s (#20) achieved double-double status in this game with 11 points and 12 rebounds, contributions from Jaquez’s layups and relentless drive, and Kiki Rice’s (#1) top scorer of the Bruins status tonight with 15 points. Another unforgettable moment came from Londynn Jones (#3), whose persistent determination before and after she was fouled by Sacramento State’s Dean (#0), leading to a quick trip to the locker room and back to continue what she started on the court, exemplified strong-mindedness on the court.

On the importance of March Madness branding and equity for the women’s game, Jaquez said, “It should always have been March Madness to start, but I’m really glad that we can be the players to play in the women’s March Madness tournament.”

Complementing her thought, Jones brought into perspective the hard work the UCLA WBB team has put in in order to be able to play on the March Madness stage. “It’s really just a testament to all of the hard work we’ve been doing, and it’s very different for [men’s] and women’s basketball, but the whole point is to make things equal.”

“You put in just as much work as them,” Jones continues. “But I think that it does show what we’re leading to and where we’re going, and so it’s a big difference.”

2023 marks the second year that the women’s NCAA D1 Tournament falls under the March Madness brand. The NCAA is making strides for gender equity in basketball, but there’s still much to be done.

“All of the things and the investments from the NCAA in the last [few] years are really, really important and greatly recognized and appreciated,” said Cori Close, the head basketball coach for WBB. “That being said, I’m excited for a few that still need to be attacked.”

03/20/2023 0 comments

Arts & Entertainment Campus Sports

Madness to Begin in Pauley

by Krystal Tome 03/17/2023

written by Krystal Tome

The NCAA Selection Committee not only awarded UCLA’s Women’s Basketball team with a No. 4 seed in the Greensville Regional 1, but they also granted Pauley Pavilion two more WBB games.

Gina Conti stated, “Probably all of our teammates are excited because… we’re able to have a chance to have all you guys come to our games.”

Camryn Brown followed with, “We’re ready to play. If we could play tomorrow, let’s play tomorrow.”

After the hard work put in by the Bruins during the regular season and especially during the recent Pac-12 Tournament where UCLA came in 2^nd place after upsetting Stanford, No. 4 seeding was well deserved and an “accurate reflection of what [UCLA WBB] earned,” as stated by Coach Close.

Going up against Sacramento State (25-7), a university making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, UCLA (29-5) needs to keep their focus among “friendly neighbor” Sacramento as Coach Close remarked “I will say that Mark Campbell, who is the head coach of Sac State is a really good friend of mine and of Tony’s on our staff as well, he actually texted me two nights ago predicting this exact match-up and said ‘can you tell the committee we don’t really want to match up good friends in the first round’ and I said ‘I don’t have the kind of pull.’”

Grateful to be celebrating at the selection show with her teammates, Kiki Rice shared how the upperclassmen have helped prepare herself, as a freshman, for March, “I think the attention to detail after practices demonstrated by Charisma and the rest of the seniors has been really important… I have no doubt that everyone will prepare me.”

On Saturday, the first 100 students will be able to attend the March Madness Game in Pauley for free! Make sure to support!

03/17/2023 0 comments

Campus News Sports

Bridging the Gap: Disparities between Women’s and Men’s Basketball

by Krystal Tome 01/17/2023

written by Krystal Tome

By: Krystal Tome

Disparity between men’s and women’s sports teams has been pertinent within the sports news cycle, sponsorships and even audience attendance for decades. Unfortunately, we see that this pattern is also persistent on college campuses across the USA.

Even at UCLA, where an inclusive culture is celebrated and respected, the disparity between men’s and women’s sports is unfortunately still present. With UCLA having lines of people waiting for a wristband to get into men’s basketball games extending from Pauley Pavilion all the way to the Covel stairs, it is interesting to think about why students don’t exude the same energy for the women’s basketball team and what systems may be in place holding this disparity.

During an interview in October with Camryn Brown (#35) and Dominique Onu (#2 [at the time of the interview]), we discussed their experiences as student-athletes and women in sports generally and within the context of UCLA.

(L-R) Kiki Rice (#1), Camryn Brown (#35), Lina Sontag (#21), Charisma Osborne (#20), Gabriela Jaquez (#23)
Photo Credits for Entire Article: Nyla Buie for NOMMO Newsmagazine/UCLA Student Media

“One of the biggest [examples of disparity] we got to see was [during the 2020-2021 season] when we went to the NCAA tournament” Brown shares. “The amenities and the attention and availability for stuff that all the men’s teams got” were a lot more elaborate and plentiful. For example, in the women’s weight rooms, Camryn continues, “there were claims of ‘no space’ until Sedona Prince from the University of Oregon shared the situation on TikTok, which is when [the NCAA] shipped some more equipment in.” By utilizing media, such as TikTok in this case, evidence of the disparity and disregard of women’s sports was exposed to the world which pressured the NCAA to take action.

The lack of equal support by companies to men’s and women’s teams affects support by the public, although it seems the NCAA is improving now, step by step. 2022 was the first year where the women’s tournament will have the same March Madness branding that the men have had since 1939. This is exciting because it could potentially increase attention towards the women’s games during the tournament, which will bring more viewers and support to women in sports.

The November 7th games were part of a doubleheader; the women’s team played against Cal Poly at 5:30pm PST and the men’s team played against Sacramento State at 8:30pm PST. During the Postgame Media Availability after the UCLA v Cal Poly game on November 7th, Coach Cori Close spoke on the importance of media coverage of women’s sports, as it is part of the journey to lessening the apparent and pertinent disparity in attention, funding, and support of women’s basketball. Coach Close remarked during her opening statement “I am keenly aware for us to continue to grow our game… we need you to be here to cover our game and tell our stories… so thank you.”

(L-R) Camryn Brown (#35) and Londynn Jones (#3)

After her debut as a Bruin on the court, Gabriela Jaquez (#23) shared that the doubleheader meant a lot to her and her family, given that her brother (Jaime Jaquez Jr. [#24]) played in the 2nd half of the doubleheader. She also shared about the importance of the doubleheader in regard to the women’s game with, “to have a doubleheader [and] to bring more fans in to watch us is a really good opportunity for the women’s basketball team.” During the game, two of the debuting freshmen, Kiki Rice (#1) and Gabriela Jaquez (#23) really let their talent shine on the court. Gabriela Jaquez’s determination and focus by the net was very impressive to watch and Kiki Rice’s speed and agility around the opposing team led to many great plays. These skills helped bring the Bruins to their first win of the season, and will continue to in the games to come.

During our interview, Dominique Onu and Camryn Brown brought a call to action for students to attend more women’s basketball games in order to help in the movement to bridge the gap between the disparity. “You can literally come to a game for free. We even raffle off things like iPads as an incentive for students to come to our games, so it would be great to see more support” Onu said. Currently, the women’s basketball team is ranked as #9 in the country by the newest AP poll due to the fervent talent by our players. It is free for students to attend UCLA’s WBB games, so come out to support our Bruins!

The members of the UCLA men’s basketball team have been supportive of the women’s game; Onu and Brown remarked they are grateful for this support as it builds community and the Bruin bond.

(L-R) Gabriela Jaquez (#23) and Lina Sontag (#21)

I would like to give a special thanks to Dominique Onu and Camryn Brown for our wonderful interview as well as Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, and Coach Cori Close for their time during postgame media availability.

01/17/2023 0 comments