UCLA forward Angela Dugalic was the spark off the bench the Bruins needed as they rallied to beat Duke and earned a trip back to the Final Four.
Before the UCLA women’s basketball team began its postseason run, coach Cori Close called Angela Dugalic the Bruins' X factor. It would be easy to dismiss that as coachspeak, especially when Close harps so much on the teamwork and joy and intangible aspects of this season's squad.
But Dugalic, UCLA’s critical first player off the bench, actually does in many ways define what the Bruins have been this season. UCLA is going back to the Final Four after a 70-58 win over Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday, a game during which Dugalic tallied 15 points with six rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes off the bench. She was a part of several key moments, from taking two shots in the paint within a minute of entering the game to a buzzer-beating floater to end the third quarter. A starter last season, she volunteered to come off the bench this year to give UCLA more lineup clarity and flexibility. Since then, she’s inspired the team's selfless play Close thought they would need to win a championship. “It's so fun that she's been rewarded for that,” she said. “But I think, more importantly, our team was rewarded for that because it's been one of the two biggest character traits that's carried us to this point, which is selflessness. And it started with that decision.” Dugalic was a starter for two seasons, including last year when the Bruins went to the Final Four. This year, with Charlisse Leger-Walker healthy and Gianna Kneepkens healthy, Dugalic has taken a back seat. In many ways, that has opened her up to have her best scoring and shooting season ever and one of the few bench players in the nation to be a legitimate 2026 WNBA draft prospect. But her choice has also set the tone for who the Bruins wanted to be this year, and they’ve followed through. “What I did, to take a step back, to be a sixth player, I think I know in other people's eyes that's a great thing and a great quality, which I take full ownership for, I am proud that I did that,” she said. “But at the same time, it just seemed like the obvious answer. I just wanted consistency for this team and something that we just didn't have to worry about was like starting lineups and all this anxiousness around it.” Dugalic began her career with Oregon, where she averaged 3.4 points in 12.1 minutes per game for a Ducks team that lost to Louisville in the Sweet 16. Then she transferred to UCLA, missed the entire 2022-23 season with a knee injury and returned as a starter. She opted to return this year despite an opportunity to go pro. Recruited by assistant coach Tasha Brown out of high school, she moved to Westwood seeking a role where she could use her versatile guard skills more. Dugalic ended up Lauren Betts’ frontcourt partner for two years before this year serving as a do-everything athlete off the bench. It’s not anything she anticipated, but it’s given her the best chance to win. “I knew that going into my fifth and sixth year that this team is so capable of winning a national championship,” she said. “And obviously, we went to that level, I would say to the Final Four, last year. I think that was just a new scene for us, you know, flashing lights, but it truly was just a new scene for us.” Close recounted the day Dugalic told assistant coach Soh Matsuura during a film session that she wanted to talk with Close and volunteer to come off the bench to avoid starting lineups becoming a distraction for the team. “He said, 'Go tell her right now,'” Close said, recounting Matsuura's reaction. “She came down the hall and asked to talk to me. I think it set the tone for the selflessness that was the expectation for the rest of the year. If anyone was tempted to think about themselves, you could point to the choice that Angela made.” UCLA has been largely guided by stars like Betts and Kiki Rice and big moments from Leger-Walker and Kneepkens and a breakout season from Gabriela Jaquez. But most teams don’t have a true, bona fide starter coming off the bench and making the kind of impact Dugalic has. Most don’t have someone who would choose that, either. And now, she has a chance to win a national championship. “There was an aggression about her that was just special,” Close said of Dugalic's play that helped UCLA rally from a deficit to beat Duke on Sunday. “I could just see it in her eyes. She just had a presence about her and a confidence that our team was really feeding off of.” The No. 1 UCLA men's volleyball program is off to the best start in 42 years. The Bruins beat No. 14 Stanford 25-22, 25-21 and 25-22 on Saturday night. With the win, UCLA improved to 20-0 for the first time since 1984 and is now 7-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. Zach Rama had a game-high 12 kills and Sean Kelly had 11, while senior setter Andrew Rowan added 37 assists. UCLA limited Stanford to a .292 hitting percentage. UCLA's next match is against No. 7 Pepperdine on Thursday. First serve is at 6 pm PDT at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. No. 1 UCLA baseball earned a 14-6 win over Iowa on Sunday, completing a sweep of the Hawkeyes. Roman Martin hit two home runs, driving in a career-high six RBIs. Top MLB draft prospect Roch Cholowsky reached base five times, collecting a double, two walks and two hit-by-pitches while scoring a team-high three runs. UCLA plays at UC Irvine on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting the most anticipated series of the season. The Bruins will face off against No. 12 USC , which is off to an equally hot start. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Field. The series continues with games at 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The finale will air on the Big Ten Network. No. 3 UCLA women's water polo earned a 9-5 win over No. 7 LMU during its regular season home finale on Sunday. The Bruins honored 11 athletes on Senior Day and saw four of them score during the victory. Seniors Bia Mantellato and Taylor Smith delivered hat tricks. UCLA completes its regular season Saturday at No. 1 USC. The match at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center starts at 1 p.m. The Trojans lead the MPSF standings with a 5-0 record. UCLA and Stanford are tied at 4-1. Swanson: UCLA women prove they’re tough enough to handle any Final Four test UCLA women battle through adversity to defeat Duke and reach the Final Four again UCLA rallies to beat Duke, punches its ticket to the Final Four How Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens have elevated UCLA into title contenders UCLA women surge in second half to defeat Minnesota and advance to Elite Eight UCLA’s Cori Close says success takes a toll on coaches in modern college sports era UCLA confident it can evolve against Minnesota, pass the next NCAA tournament test UCLA star Lauren Betts rewards fans who helped change her life Swanson: Why the best UCLA women’s basketball team ever might not win a national title Lauren Betts scores career-high 35 as UCLA powers past Oklahoma State and into Sweet 16 UCLA stars now have a better chance of sticking with WNBA rosters under new CBA John Savage discusses what he’s learned in his 22 seasons as UCLA baseball coach Rare double-doubles: Betts sisters shine during UCLA’s NCAA tournament run Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
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