{"id":220761,"date":"2026-03-15T13:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T13:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/220761\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T13:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T13:37:08","slug":"how-gabriela-jaquez-became-a-breakout-shooting-star-for-no-2-ucla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/220761\/","title":{"rendered":"How Gabriela Jaquez became a breakout shooting star for No. 2 UCLA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In late November, Gabriela Jaquez<\/a> scored 29 points against Tennessee. It wasn\u2019t her career high; that came when she tallied 30 points two years prior.<\/p>\n

But that game, when Tennessee had no answers for a player who was then the UCLA<\/a> women\u2019s basketball team\u2019s fifth offensive option, felt like Jaquez\u2019s coming-out party after years as a quieter cog in the Bruins\u2019 rotation. It changed the way teams had to defend her. Previously known more for attacking the rim than for shooting from outside, Jaquez showcased a different dimension.<\/p>\n

Against the Volunteers<\/a>, Jaquez made five three-pointers, her most ever.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, one of the best teams in the nation had one of the best breakout stars. Entering the NCAA tournament, the 31-1 Big Ten champion Bruins are relying on Jaquez as one of their super seniors to guide them back to the Final Four.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA's <\/p>\n

UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker hugs teammate Gabriela Jaquez, who led the Bruins in scoring during a win over Tennessee on Nov. 30 at Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n

(Luiza Moraes \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think she\u2019s always been that player,\u201d said senior guard Kiki Rice, who has played four seasons with Jaquez. \u201cBut I do think she\u2019s had a lot more opportunity to demonstrate that, and you saw that in the beginning of the year. She just started off such a hot shooter, and the way that she\u2019s developed every single year, gotten better and just found a way to impact the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though she hasn\u2019t reached that same scoring peak again, Jaquez has quietly buoyed UCLA\u2019s dominant run this season as the Bruins have emerged as one of the favorites to win a national title. She ranks second on UCLA (among players with at least 30 attempts) in field-goal percentage at 54.3%, second in three-point shooting at 41.1% and third in scoring.<\/p>\n

Jaquez has gotten attention for being part of a family legacy at UCLA<\/a> and spending an offseason with the Bruins\u2019 softball team. But in the background, even when she hasn\u2019t been the leader for the UCLA women\u2019s basketball team, Jaquez has honed herself into one of just 25 Power Four conference players shooting better than 40% from deep this season.<\/p>\n

Jaquez, who tallied her 1,000th career point early this season, is having a career-best season with 13.6 points per game, has added double-digits in 25 of her 31 games this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much depth to her,\u201d said guard Charlisse Leger-Walker<\/a>, who often dances alongside Jaquez in videos posted on social media and Leger-Walker\u2019s YouTube video series. \u201cGetting to understand her off the court, I think has really helped our connection on the court, and kind of how her personality is so outgoing. She likes to bring people along. You can see that on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaquez came in as a 5-foot-11 freshman who played primarily as an undersized forward and would crash the net and collect rebounds.<\/p>\n

The shooting, though, has been the biggest change this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of her as someone who, especially early on, like she doesn\u2019t need to have the ball on hand, she doesn\u2019t need to have plays run for her to impact the game,\u201d Rice said. \u201cBut then she\u2019s been shooting so well too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early in the season, teams doubled Lauren Betts, who leads the team with 16.4 points per game as a center, which opened Jaquez to shoot from deep, establishing herself as someone who needed to be keyed on.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA's <\/p>\n

UCLA\u2019s Gabriela Jaquez shoots the ball under pressure from Oregon\u2019s Katie Fiso on Dec. 7 at Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n

(Luke Hales \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Her 107 three-point attempts are a career-high this season, with her shot selection jumping to 32.4% coming from behind the arc. That\u2019s come with a career-high 2.2 assists per game and an 85.2 defensive rating, ranked in the top 20% of the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can shoot the ball, she can finish, she defends,\u201d shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens<\/a> said. \u201cI love playing with Gabs. Sometimes I get caught watching her because she\u2019s just so amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Jaquez projects as a first-round WNBA pick, in large part because of her versatility on offense. She is listed as a guard on the Bruins\u2019 roster, but often starts at forward, where she can stretch the floor. Her 5.4 rebounds per game are third on the team, thanks in large part because of her ability to fill positions one through five.<\/p>\n

During UCLA\u2019s Big Ten semifinal win over Ohio State, Jaquez shot four for 12 but Bruins coach Cori Close noted Jaquez\u2019s importance when her shooting isn\u2019t on target.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I liked about that the most is that she struggled a little bit in the middle of the second half,\u201d Close said. \u201cIt just showed a lot of her mental toughness that, when we needed her the most, she was going to be there for us on the defensive end and on the rebounding end.\u201d<\/p>\n

While all five starters have been mentioned as possible WNBA first-rounders, Jaquez has perhaps made the biggest leap, two WNBA scouts not authorized to publicly discuss prospects said.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez celebrates with the Big Ten tournament trophy after the Bruins beat Iowa in the finals on March 8 in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

(Michael Conroy \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

When Rice and Leger-Walker are on the bench, Jaquez has taken on point guard duties.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe does all those little hustle plays,\u201d Leger-Walker said. \u201cShe will score if you need her to, she\u2019ll cut, she\u2019ll rebound, like, she\u2019s so versatile. You know what you\u2019re getting from her, and she\u2019s kind of that person who\u2019s the engine of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaquez hasn\u2019t thought much about what happens after this season. This year\u2019s mantra of joy has resonated after last year\u2019s crushing Final Four loss to Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fuel,\u201d Jaquez said. \u201cThat started [last] spring and into the offseason, knowing exactly what to work on, how to prepare\u2026. But I just love the team aspect of basketball, I love this group of girls specifically and I think having so much fun out there has [been the most important thing] and winning has made it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The night Jaquez hit five three-pointers against Tennessee may have felt like her arrival. But for the teammates who have watched her develop for four years, it looked less like a breakthrough and more like the rest of the country finally catching up.<\/p>\n

The rest of the country may have only noticed this season. But inside UCLA\u2019s locker room, Jaquez has been that player all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cGabs is an extremely confident person, so I feel like if you\u2019d asked her this freshman year, she would have believed that she\u2019d become just the incredible player that she is,\u201d Rice said. \u201cJust the opportunity, her experience at this level these past few years has really helped her develop into what she is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In late November, Gabriela Jaquez scored 29 points against Tennessee. It wasn\u2019t her career high; that came when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48966,46981,8932,42838,423,2134,48,52,51,100998,47,50,49,18158,1459,9442,1417,278,45740,1092,72],"class_list":["post-220761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-basketball-team","tag-big","tag-bruins","tag-gabriela-jaquez","tag-game","tag-good-team","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-leger-walker","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-no","tag-part","tag-player","tag-point","tag-season","tag-three-point-shooting","tag-ucla","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}