SPOKANE, Wash. -- When UCLA and LSU face off against one another in the Elite Eight on Sunday, it will be a rematch of last season's Sweet 16. That game has stuck with the Bruins.
It was a big source of motivation for them all season long.
"Last year, LSU was the tougher team in that matchup and a lot of our work during the off-season, just throughout this entire year, has been how can we kind of build that collective toughness to be ready for those matchups and be ready for physical teams, be ready for these kind of environments," UCLA guard Kiki Rice said.
UCLA held a two-point lead with just over two minutes to go in last year's Sweet 16. But a ferocious LSU run down the stretch allowed them to win by nine. Rice said that game -- and in particular those last two minutes -- left a sour taste in her team's mouth. It also shaped what they worked on during their off-season.
"So they used our loss to fuel their season?" LSU coach Kim Mulkey asked. "I don't know that we've really thought about that win very much. I'm sure if that was the last game of the season for them, maybe it does fuel them. But I just remember we won. I can't remember details."
The Bruins focused on improving their play out of timeouts, two-for-ones and closing quarters strong. UCLA coach Cori Close said there was also a heavy emphasis put on navigating "playing through chaos" without panicking -- which she felt was an issue against LSU.
"We were sort of a mechanical -- way too mechanical last year," Close said. "I want a team that's disciplined, but that plays it like an art project, not a scientific formula... (I've) really have tried to empower them more, create chaotic situations in practice, create adverse scenarios."
Close continued: "We definitely didn't like the way in which we approached our game with LSU last year, both physically and our tempo and aggression, but also mentally in terms of our confidence...I think this year this team has earned different levels of confidence and aggression that I think puts us in a better position to be our best."
This year's matchup is expected to be just as physical, especially in the paint with Lauren Betts and Aneesah Morrow. Betts finished UCLA's Sweet 16 game against Ole Miss with 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting, and 10 rebounds -- becoming the first Division I player to have 30 points, 10 rebounds and shoot at least 80% from the floor in back-to-back games (regular season or postseason).
Just a few hours before that, Morrow had her own monster game, leading the Tigers with 30 points and 19 rebounds against NC State.
"Morrow, she's just a beast on the boards," Betts said. "I think tomorrow we're just going to have to come out with a really physical mentality and just making sure that we don't rely on our height, that we actually find a body and box somebody out.
On Betts, Mulkey said, "She's learning how to really post you deep, and that just comes with experience and age and just probably them working with her every day. She has just improved so much. Every time I watch her play, she does something really, really good, and I go, Hmm, that's a lot of work. She's a special talent."
Both teams have watched film from last year's game to prepare for Sunday's matchup. For LSU, they feel USLA is still built essentially around one player. For the Bruins, they see a lot of the same schemes the Tigers ran last season.
But, both admit there have also been a lot of personnel changes that force them to change some of their approach to the game.
"I think they're a better team than they were last year," Flau'jae Johnson said. "The thing about us is that we're experienced."