Ucla Fans Gather In Arizona To Proudly Cheer On Final Four Bruins They Admire

PHOENIX — UCLA fans flooded nan streets of downtown Phoenix hours earlier nan extremity of Friday’s Final Four crippled against Texas. Across nan thoroughfare from nan Mortgage Matchup Center, hundreds of fans dressed successful bluish and golden packed Tom’s Watch Bar for a backstage UCLA alumni event.

Though past year’s 85-51 Final Four semifinal nonaccomplishment to UConn near a sour sensation successful nan mouths of Bruins fans, it didn’t extremity them from making nan six-hour thrust from Los Angeles to Phoenix for UCLA’s 2nd Final Four appearance.

Among those successful attendance Friday to support UCLA were people of 2002 alumni and assemblage roommates Candice Wilmuth and Amy Shoemaker. Shoemaker traveled from Long Beach, while Wilmuth came from Lake Tahoe.

“I americium excited for women’s hoops to get nan support that men’s gets,” Shoemaker said. “For me, portion of coming retired this play is besides putting my money wherever my rima is. This is portion of women stepping up and getting nan nickname they deserve. I want UCLA hoops for women to beryllium nan aforesaid moneymaker [as it is for men’s]. If I’m stepping done nan airdrome and group are like, ‘Why are you wearing your UCLA gear?’ past I’m like, ‘UCLA’s successful nan Final Four.’ They shouldn’t person to say, ‘It’s nan women.’ That’s what I hope, because I deliberation UCLA has an unthinkable sports lore. I deliberation it’s ace exciting.”

UCLA fans cheer during nan first 4th of nan Bruins’ triumph complete Texas during a Final Four semifinal Friday astatine Mortgage Matchup Center successful Phoenix.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Shoemaker hopes that two-time All-American Lauren Betts tin time off nan aforesaid bequest arsenic that of galore of nan UCLA men’s greats.

“What I dream for is, you cognize for illustration erstwhile you’re astatine a crippled and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar comes to nan crippled and everybody stands up and claps, that nan aforesaid would hap for Lauren Betts successful 20 years,” Shoemaker said.

Wilmuth and Shoemaker person besides been impressed pinch the character of UCLA coach Cori Close’s team.

“And they’re nan benignant of group you want to be,” Wilmuth said. “Not conscionable because they’re astonishing hoops players, but they’re really making affirmative choices astir who they want to beryllium arsenic group and that’s truthful overmuch much important than conscionable a sport. And it makes maine really proud to beryllium a Bruin and proud to beryllium affiliated pinch them.”

Scott and Dianne Parker, a retired mates from South Pasadena, attended nan Bruins’ first 2 games astatine Pauley Pavillion this season. A fewer days earlier nan Final Four, they decided to make an impromptu travel to Arizona to cheeron UCLA.

“I’m an alumni and connected Tuesday aliases Wednesday of this week, we said, ‘Let’s spell to Phoenix!” Dianne recalled. “We’re retired. We could do it.”

Dianne believes nan early is very agleam successful Westwood.

“[I expect] much wins,” Dianne said. “Cori Close is simply a awesome coach. I deliberation she’s sewage what it takes to build a bully team. They’re losing a batch of talent, truthful that will beryllium hard, but I deliberation that she’ll put nan champion squad she tin together.”

It wasn’t a difficult determination for Kathy Jeffries and her daughter, Kirstie, some UCLA alums, to recreation to nan godforsaken from Pasadena for nan Final Four weekend.

“We are play summons holders for nan Bruins and we conscionable could not walk this up,” Kathy said. “Once successful a lifetime. Well, hopefully not erstwhile successful a lifetime, but nan first successful a lifetime.”

Though past year’s Final Four tally ended successful bitter heartbreak, Kirstie is much optimistic astir UCLA’s chances this year.

“Last year’s squad was a awesome team,” Kirstie said. “But they look to person moreover much camaraderie and chemistry, truthful we’re conscionable large fans of them personally and athletically.”