UCLA Bruins battled it out against the University of Southern California Lady Trojans in the semi-finals of the Pac-12 conference. The game was a nail-biting thriller running into two overtimes which finally saw Trojans emerging victorious by a narrow margin of 80-70. Though Bruins lost the match, the thing that grabbed all eyeballs was how their head coach Cori Close handled the defeat with grace.

Coach Close made an appearance in the post-match press conference and instead of snitching on players decided to take the blame on herself after a thorough introspection. UCLA fans breathed a sigh of relief on the otherwise bleak day after watching coach speak.

What did Close say?

As is the norm, Close was asked to reflect on the defeat by media personnel and give her valuable input. Taking cognizance of the average performance of her team, Close stated: “We always say that the tougher, more together team wins and they were a little bit tougher than us.” She further added: “And just being really candid, that’s always on me, it’s my responsibility to have my team be in position to be that and we weren’t.”

Trojans were the favorites to win this match-up relying on the star power of JuJu Watkins. And she delivered. Watkins smashed a game-high 33 points along with 10 rebounds. She thus smoked a double-double. Riding on her exploits, Trojans were able to take the match to the second overtime from where they eventually won. Watkins contributed in every capacity she could during the second overtime, nabbing steals, assisting as well as making free throws.

On the other hand, Bruins’ lack of toughness was visible in their steals and blocks stat. While the Trojans performed 10 steals and 8 blocks, Bruins were only able to do 6 steals and 4 blocks.

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This stopped them from reaping rewards from the semi-finals and were eliminated. Previously in the quarterfinals too Watkins had been a major force for her team. Trojans now have advanced to the finals of the Pac-12 tournament.

What’s next for Trojans?

Trojans would be locking horns for the Pac-12 championship title with Stanford Cardinal and it would be interesting to watch the two stars- JuJu Watkins and Cameron Brink- going against each other.  The match can surely swing to either side as Trojans had a 25-5 tally in the regular season while Cardinal were placed at the top in the conference with a 28-4 tally.

Fans would be expecting another Watkins miracle on the special day and it will surely bring viewers to the edge of the seats. Hopefully, the better team that day will claim the title and qualify for the upcoming March Madness.

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