PARIS – UCLA will begin the 2024-25 women's basketball season at the Aflac Oui-Play opening doubleheader in Paris, France. The Bruins face the University of Louisville at 11:30 a.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN 2.

Monday's game will be the first meeting between the programs. It is the ninth season-opening game that UCLA has played at a neutral site and the first time the Bruins have started the year on foreign soil.

The Michael Price Family, UCLA women's head basketball coach Cori Close and Louisville head coach Jeff Walz will be competing for the first time after previously working with USA Basketball to coach the 2018 U18 Women's National Team.

Game information
Venue: Adidas Arena
Location: Paris, France
Tip time: 8:30 p.m. CET / 11:30 a.m. PT
TV: ESPN2
TV talent: Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo
Radio: UCLA Digital Radio
Radio talent: Dave Marcus

Ticket information

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and can be purchased here. For information about courtside seating, please contact Mallory Shurtz ([email protected]).

2023-24 in review

• UCLA climbed to its highest spot in the Associated Press Women's Basketball Top 25 poll, ranking second in the country from week three through week 10. In Week 12, UCLA was again No. 2 and ranked 10th in the final poll.
• The Bruins ended their season with their second straight Sweet Sixteen exit from the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bruins have hosted the first and second rounds each of the last two seasons; UCLA's No. 2 seed in the 2024 tournament is its highest ranking in program history.
• PhD student Charisma Osborne ended her record-setting career with the Bruins in 2024; Osborne became UCLA's second all-time leading scorer (2,272 PTS) and the all-time leader in 3-pointers made (282), games played (152) and games started (150). The shooting guard also landed in the top 10 in field goals scored (768), assists (477) and rebounds (845).
•Junior Lauren Betts saw a significant increase in her role on the pitch; The second-year center led UCLA in points (14.9), rebounds (9.3) and shooting percentage (.643). She had 59 blocks during the season, defended the paint with one target and collected the most rejections by a UCLA sophomore in program history.
•Junior London Jones broke the single-season 3-point total record in her sophomore season; The left-hander threw 238 attempts (also a school record) and made 87 shots (.366 3FG%) in her second collegiate season.
•Junior Kiki rice had an outstanding sophomore season, recording her first career triple double on December 7 against CSUN. The PG led the Bruins in assists (152), free throws made (106) and defensive rebounds (172) and was second team in steals (48), behind only Osborne (55).
• Rice was featured on the ESPN+ documentary series “Full Court Press,” which followed UCLA, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark.

The 2024-25 UCLA Bruins
THE RETURNS

• Betts set new single-game career highs in eight statistical categories in her debut season with the Bruins. The center earned Pac-12 All-Tournament Team honors, was named to the Albany 2 All-Regional Tournament Team in the NCAA Tournament, and earned USBWA All-America Honorable Mention and Associated Press All-America Honorable honors Mention.”
• Rice improved all of her shooting percentages, finishing her sophomore season hitting .449/.312/.876 while appearing in all 34 games as a sophomore.
• Dugalic averaged career-highs in points (8.7), rebounds (6.5) and assists (2.1) per game and started 29 of her 30 appearances with the Bruins. She also reached the highlight of her new single-game career when she scored 17 points against her former program, Oregon, on January 5.
• Jaquez was a key part of UCLA's strength, posting 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game off the bench. She was one of five Bruins to score in double figures during the 2023-24 season.
• Jones made the most 3-pointers in the Pac-12 Conference in her sophomore season. The 5-foot-7 guard started in 29 of her 34 appearances and averaged 11.8 points, 1.9 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 1 steal per game in the 2023-24 season.
• Amanda Muse begins her second season with 19 appearances. The center had 12 blocks (0.6 BPG) this season, including three rejections against Niagara on Nov. 25, the highest of his career.

NEW BRUINS FROM THE TRANSFER PORTAL

•Junior Janiah Barker transfers to the Bruins via Texas A&M. The Marietta, Georgia native was the youngest player and only a second-year player to make the SEC Preseason First Team prior to the 2023-24 season. Barker made 27 starts in 30 appearances in her second collegiate season. As a sophomore, she scored 365 points and hit 227 boards, ranking second-highest in both statistical categories for A&M. During her final season with the Aggies, she recorded eight double-doubles and averaged 12.2 points and 7.6 boards in 30 games as a sophomore.
•Junior Timea Gardiner is coming off a campaign with Oregon State that earned her 2023-24 Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year honors. Gardiner appeared in all 35 contests during her sophomore season at Oregon State, scoring 406 points and collecting 244 rebounds while shooting 39.5 percent from three-point land. Off the bench, she averaged a league-best 10.2 points per game.
• Graduate transfer Charlisse Leger Walker comes to Westwood after a four-year career at Washington State. The New Zealand native earned All-Pac-12 nods (coaches and media) in late January despite a season-ending injury. On the Washington State career records list, she ranked third in career points (1,743), fourth in points per game (16.6), fifth in field goals made (607), second Ranked third in three-pointers made (199) and fifth in free kicks scored (330), fourth in assists (389), T-10 in double-doubles (11), ninth in games started (105) and third in games played Minutes (3,794).