LOS ANGELES - The Bruins have found a way to enjoy the moment this season. Every moment.
Of course, their success this season has given them plenty of moments to enjoy. An undefeated run through the Big Ten Conference and repeat as Big Ten tournament champions have been marquee moments this season and now they’re looking to carry that energy through March Madness. Through all the heights, it’s been apparent that joy is an emphasis, success or otherwise.
The Bruins have looked like as much like a family as they have a basketball team, with head coach Cori Close as the matriarch.
Jack Haslett -- The Sporting Tribune
UCLA women's basketball celebrates a win over Southern University on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA.
Of course, for a team that spends so much time together on and off the court, playing and practicing, traveling across the country and living together, actually liking to be around each other is a big plus.
“We all know how long the season is… But, if we can have fun during those times and enjoy every single moment we spend with each other, it’s just going to make us play better. It’s going to make us want to be around each other more and I feel like some of our best moments have been off the court,” senior guard Kiki Rice said.
Some of those joyous moments have made their way to the public eye, like the now-viral dance that senior center Lauren Betts, senior forward Gabriela Jaquez and graduate guard Charlisse Leger-Walker performed during halftime of a UCLA men’s basketball game.
There aren’t many teams in college basketball, or really any sport, that would do something like that. Let alone get their teammates to do it with them.
Lessons from Megan Grant
Some of that joy made its way to the Bruins through an obvious source, senior guard/forward Megan Grant.
Grant has been a fan-favorite for the Bruins throughout this season. She isn't playing basketball at the moment as she's been busy playing with the No. 7 UCLA softball team, but throughout the season she's been a fan-favorite, coming off the bench in the final minutes of blowouts, often to thunderous applause, but more importantly being a ray of light that kept the team going.
“She’s brought a lot of joy to us. We kept going with and without her, but she’s always cheering us hard,” graduate forward Angela Dugalic said of Grant.
Steven Park - The Sporting Tribune
UCLA Bruins forward Megan Grant (43) celebrates after scoring a basket during an NCAA basketball game against Long Beach State, Saturday December 20, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Close has taken it a step further. To the UCLA head coach, it hasn’t just been about liking the people around you. Joy has been about appreciating the moment and appreciating each other. As dominant as UCLA has been, Close doesn’t want the satisfaction of each accomplishment lost in the desire to move on to the next thing, or the next challenge.
To echo Grant again, joy isn’t something that just happens to the Bruins. It’s a decision.
“Megan Grant always says ‘Choose joy.’ I think that joy is not just happiness,” Close said. “Joy is a choice. Joy is a character trait. Joy is a cultural commitment we’ve made as a program to celebrate each other. That’s what’s been really cool is they have chosen joy over and over again.”
What brought Dugalic back
Dugalic really wouldn’t still be in Westwood if she didn’t love her team. She exercised her last season of eligibility to finish the ride with the Bruins, even if it was in an altered role off the bench.
While a sense of unfinished business after UCLA’s defeat in the Final Four last season may have been part of Dugalic’s decision, sticking out an entire extra season just out of drive isn’t a sustainable strategy for most, but genuine love for the people you’re with is.
Jack Haslett -- The Sporting Tribune
UCLA forward Angela Dugalic (32) looks for a pass during a NCAA basketball game between UCLA and Southern University on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA.
“I’m just really proud of this team and the fact that I can share these moments and have a smile, this doesn’t feel like a job to me,” Dugalic said. “It feels like a really, really nice vacation or hobby.”
Close's commitment to joy
The commitment to that culture is something dear to Close, especially after last season. While 2024-25 was similarly full of triumphs before it’s end at the hands of UConn, Close has looked back at that season with regret, not because it didn’t end in confetti, but because of the way she came down on her players in the pursuit of greatness without always allowing them to feel great.
Coming into this season, promoting joy has been one of her biggest goals.
“I want to be a thermostat, not a thermometer. I want to be able to set the temperature in a room as a leader. And I don’t think I did as good of a job of that last year as I needed to,” Close said. “So this year, I really wanted to set a perspective and be very consistent in measuring the temperature of the room and how we frame experiences.”
Jordan Teller - The Sporting Tribune
Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins talks to Lauren Betts #51 of the UCLA Bruins in the huddle during an NCAA basketball game against the Purdue Boilermakers, Wednesday January 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, Calif.
What’s helped in that process has been the mentalities of this UCLA squad.
Just about every player, especially the seniors on the team, can be leaders in their own right. They’ve been nothing short of business-like in their conduct, making discipline the standard of their program and displaying stunning awareness of their flaws.
The players never left their commitment to performance in question, which freed up Close to ensure their commitment to joy equaled that performance.
“I knew I didn’t have to coach this team’s commitment or work ethic… I do think it was important that I took the pressure off and that we had joy in the experiences,” Close said.
