LOS ANGELES — UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close is watching the WNBA Finals with great interest ahead of her own season tipoff on Monday against Lehigh.
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With the Golden State Valkyries leading the seven-game series 3-2 over the Atlanta Dream with a chance to win their first WNBA title in just the franchise’s second year, Game 6 starts at 9:30 a.m. PT on Thursday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Dream play their regular-season home games at Gateway Center, with a capacity of about 3,500. In the postseason, they have hosted games at State Farm Arena, which is home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and seats roughly 17,000 fans.
Thursday’s Game 6 conflicted with the Hawks’ contest that night against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second game of a back-to-back set.
Close sounded off on the WNBA Finals’ scheduling snafu during the UCLA women’s basketball team’s preseason media day on Tuesday morning.
“I hope that as the incredible work of the WNBA attendance, corporate sponsorship and viewership continues to soar, that the ownership groups and the planning in advance will match that soar,” said Close, who led the Bruins to their first national championship last spring.
Thursday’s game is not exactly a primetime media slot in an entertaining back-and-forth series featuring two former Bruins. Golden State coach Natalie Nakase was a walk-on point guard for the Bruins and graduated in 2002. Dream guard Jordin Canada, who is averaging 14.9 points and 7.8 assists per game, played for Close from 2014-18.
“I think it got exposed that it didn’t match this time,” Close said. “I’m not in those rooms. I don’t know whether or not they believed their team would actually get there or if we were afraid they wouldn’t sell out. I don’t know what led to that, but obviously there wasn’t strategic planning in advance and anticipating the trends we are seeing in our great game.”
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UCLA will open its title defense as the 11th-ranked team in the country, with six players off their national championship team having been selected in April’s WNBA draft. Five of them were first-round picks: Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic (Washington Mystics), Gabriela Jacquez (Chicago Sky), Kiki Rice (Toronto Tempo) and Gianna Kneepkens (Connecticut Sun). Charlisse Leger-Walker was drafted in the second round by the Sun.
Close is hoping to see improvements made after the WNBA had arguably its most popular season in a generation and its most watched since 2000, according to the Sports Business Journal, with the WNBA averaging 771,000 viewers per game, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports.
“Everybody is drafted for funds, so I’m not saying that this is an easy thing,” Close said. “But I hope as we see the excitement, see the craft, the engagement, the interest across social media and as far as national TV spots, as far as advertising, that the ownership groups and the marketing of WNBA teams, the PR groups are growing at the same rate as their team on the floor.”
Close also weighed in on the WNBA’s need to improve its officiating during games. Game 5 in particular had its share of critics.
Dream coach Dean Smesko and star forward Angel Reese voiced their frustrations over the physical contact that resulted in no-calls in a 64-55 loss to the Valkyries on Monday night in San Francisco.
“I feel that everyone wants the same thing,” Close said. “But to take advantage of the incredible movement we are seeing within our game, the officiating has to rise with it. The planning and strategic planning of the ownership groups and the administrative side have to grow with it because we are in a really sweet time.”
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