When Lauren Betts struggled to find the words to describe how she felt after the UCLA women’s basketball team won the Big Ten Conference Tournament, Kiki Rice took the reins of the press conference.
“Excited and proud of this group and how we fought today. It hasn’t been easy,” Rice said calmly, wearing a Big Ten Conference champion trucker hat that struggled to contain the spiraling curls of her high ponytail.
The point guard has always been heralded by her coaches and teammates for her quiet influence, but Rice has elevated her leadership ever since UCLA lost the regular-season conference title to USC.
She’s become a guiding force in a reborn, player-led team that has reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 rankings and has all but locked up a No. 1 overall seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins will learn their tournament fate on Selection Sunday.
“I haven’t been in this position where I feel like it’s my responsibility to take charge,” Rice said just before leaving for the Big Ten Tournament. “I came here to win and I came here to bring championships.
“I’m continuing to realize I need to do everything that I can to help help do that. If that means stepping out of my comfort zone, then I gotta do it.”
Rice coordinated with teammate and roommate Gabriela Jaquez a player-led meeting in which they watched film and verbally held each other accountable prior to the conference tournament.
She also asked Charlisse Leger-Walker, who redshirted due to injury this season, to accompany her to a breakfast with Lauren Betts in order to make sure their star center had the confidence she needed heading into the postseason.
Although Leger-Walker hasn’t played a minute at UCLA, the fifth-year student-athlete’s experience and previous success at Washington State have earned her respect among the team. She’s reciprocated that.
“I’ve really tried to breathe confidence in her,” Leger-Walker said of Rice. “And saying, like, ‘You have so much more of an impact than you probably think you do.’”
“And I think she knows it to an extent, but now she’s bringing her voice along with it and kind of getting the team together more often. Things like that have been just huge for her own growth and for the growth of our team.”
The junior class has risen along with Rice. Jaquez shares instructions with her teammates during games and captures attention when she gives feedback during practice. Londynn Jones unites the team in games by making the extra pass when the moment is right or seizing opportunities on off-ball defense.
“We are confident in ourselves, and we know what we’re capable of,” Jaquez told reporters Tuesday. “Seeing that and witnessing that, I think that’s the biggest tool. It’s the players taking ownership and taking accountability and going out there and performing like we know how.”
UCLA had evolved mid-game in the Big Ten Tournament final against USC. The Bruins ramped up the scoring in the second half and Betts made every shot she attempted in the third quarter.
They shot 58% in the second half and had 18 rebounds – compared to nine boards that they pulled down in the first half. Rice spoke to Betts in the locker room, encouraging her to continue playing hard despite whatever calls may come.
Throughout the game, the point guard scored 13 points and dished out eight assists.
“How they took control of the situation was absolutely player-led,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said Tuesday. “And that’ll be a reference point for not only the rest of the NCAA Tournament, but for the rest of their lives.”
Close said the team remains player-led even in the days after the conference tournament win. The heavy Big Ten trophy is being stored in the basketball offices for the time being, with hopes that an NCAA Tournament banner will soon be unfurled inside Pauley Pavilion.
Assistant coach Tasha Brown, who leads the “mind gym,” broke the players into groups Tuesday and had them write down player-led moments that had happened lately.
“Success leaves clues,” Close said. “So, what are the clues that we need to really hold on to from what happened? Really trying to etch those into our subconscious and conscious about what led to what we wanted. And how do we really scale that and continue that?”
The process of sustaining a player-led team is infinite and meanders in a way that makes a pivotal moment difficult to pinpoint. But the slice of time between the loss to USC and the start of the conference tournament was certainly fertile for change, and Rice sowed the seeds.
“I want to win and I’m really competitive,” Rice said. “Just feeling that loss, I’m like, I really don’t care what it takes. I don’t want to feel that again.”