When Gabriela Jaquez checked into Friday’s game against the Sparks, it was so familiar. The aura of the arena, the cheers from her friends and family.
But it was actually Jaquez’s first time playing on that court. Growing up in Camarillo, she spent her childhood watching Lakers and Sparks games, as she said, “back when it was Staples Center.”
At Crypto.com Arena, though, she was a professional. Months after winning a national title with UCLA, Jaquez was facing her hometown WNBA squad as a member of the Chicago Sky.
“All the legends that have played here, all the games that I have attended here,” she said ahead of Friday’s game. “I’m just like, I walked out there, I told Jacy [Sheldon,] my teammate, that I was like, ‘This is so crazy.’ Like I’m just playing in here. I’ve watched so many games.”
In her first WNBA season, Jaquez has averaged 23 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. She has started 15 games, but came off the bench Friday when she scored a team-leading 15 points with five rebounds and shot six for 12 in front of what she said was two suites full of friends and family.
Jaquez was the Sky’s first-round selection at fifth overall a week after she helped the Bruins to their national title. She was one of six UCLA players taken in that draft and five in the first round, setting a WNBA record for a single program.
“It’s a very quick transition,” Jaquez said. “I don’t think you can fully prepare for that transition just because I don’t think there’s anything like it. But I did know that it was going to be quick and it was going to be fast, but I just try to stay grateful through it all.”
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts faced Jaquez in the Pac-12 while Roberts was at Utah and nearly recruited Jaquez to join the Utes many years ago.
The Chicago Sky’s Gabriela Jaquez drives to the basket under pressure from the Wings’ Azzi Fudd on Sunday in Dallas.
(Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
“[UCLA coach] Cori [Close] and I were joking the other day,” Roberts said. “I was close [with Jaquez] and she just kept saying, ‘Well, I’m just waiting to see what UCLA does.’ So I was texting Cori, like, ‘Would you please cut her loose or offer her?’ I’ve always been a big fan of hers. But I think all those guys, they learned how to play with other stars. I think that’s a key in being a WNBA player. You’ve got to learn you’re not the one anymore. And I think at UCLA with that roster they had, they all had to learn how to, you know, sacrifice something to get the ultimate goal. So they’re coming in as team players.”
Close did not cut Jaquez loose and she went on to become a hometown hero with the Bruins. After three solid seasons, Jaquez became a much stronger scoring threat as a senior, shooting a career-high 53.9% with 13.5 points per game during the NCAA title-winning season.
Already established as a strong rebounder and defender, adding that offensive element raised her draft stock year-over-year higher than any other prospect.
“There’s so much to learn coming into this league,” Jaquez said. “I don’t know if I could really name one [thing], but it’s just a lot of games. That’s kind of like the main one that comes to my mind is just the amount of games that you’re playing.”
UCLA Bruins Angela Dugalic, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez pose at the WNBA draft. All five were selected in the first round of the draft.
(Angelina Katsanis / Getty Images)
The seniors and graduate students on the 2025-26 UCLA national championship team remain close. Jaquez has faced off against former teammates Charlisse Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens and Kiki Rice.
“We still keep that senior group chat alive, just kind of updating each other,” Jaquez said. “Obviously, when we play each other I’ll text, ‘I’m coming into town,’ or they’ll text me and we always can get dinner the night before, and so that’s always super special. Especially me being in a new state [and] a new city, as I’ve been in Southern California my whole life until now, it’s great to see familiar faces and I’m really grateful that I could catch up with my [former] teammates.”
Roch Cholowsky headlines Bruins in MLB draft
No. 1 MLB draft pick Roch Cholowsky throws a ceremonial first pitch before the White Sox played the Athletics in Chicago on Sunday.
(Nam Y. Huh / Ap Photo/nam Y. Huh)
After an elite UCLA career, Roch Cholowsky was drafted by the Chicago White Sox with the No. 1 overall pick Saturday.
He became the third Bruin to be selected No. 1, joining Gerrit Cole (2011) and Chris Chambliss (1970).
On Monday, MLB.com reported Cholowsky passed his physical and is set to receive a record-setting signing bonus of $10.35 million. The White Sox have not yet announced the deal.
Cholowsky’s bonus tops the $9.3 million bonuses the Reds gave Chase Burns and the Rockies gave Charlie Condon in 2024, according to MLB.com.
Cholowsky said he was thrilled to be drafted by Chicago, where he enjoyed pre-draft meetings with team officials and mingled in the clubhouse of a team that entered the All-Star break leading the AL Central.
“It really felt like to me like a college clubhouse,” Cholowsky told the Associated Press. “It’s just a different feel in there.”
Cholowsky was one of 10 Bruins selected in the MLB draft.
Logan Reddemann (No. 38, Colorado Rockies), Mulivai Levu (No. 70, Cincinnati Reds) and Roman Martin (No. 111, Athletics) joined Cholowsky getting selected on the first day of the draft.
Bruins Cal Randall (No. 146, St. Louis Cardinals), Will Gasparino (No. 161, Philadelphia Phillies), Dean West (No. 222, Toronto Blue Jays), Cashel Dugger (No. 256, Washington Nationals), Michael Barnett (No. 587, Minnesota Twins) and Justin Lee (No. 609, Philadelphia Phillies) were drafted on the second day.
Walt Hazzard to be inducted into Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
UCLA’s Walt Hazzard carries the NCAA national championship trophy as the team arrives at LAX in 1964.
(Harold Matosian / Associated Press)
Former UCLA player and coach Walt Hazzard will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, a selection committee announced Monday.
Hazzard, who died in 2011 at the age of 69, was a senior co-captain on the 1963-64 UCLA basketball team that won the first national title in the program’s history and posted a 30-0 record. He averaged a career-best 18.6 points for the title-winning team, earning most outstanding playerhonors at the Final Four. He also won national player of the year honors.
The 6-foot-2 point guard who grew up in Philadelphia won an Olympic gold medal in 1964 and was a two-time All-American under the direction of Bruins coach John Wooden.
Hazzard went on to coach at Compton College, Chapman and UCLA, leading the Bruins to an NIT title and Pac-10 regular season tournament titles during his four seasons leading the program. His Hall of Fame induction, however, is solely based on his performance as a player.
The 2026 induction class was selected by a committee comprised of college basketball leaders from around the country. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is administered by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches Foundation.
In case you missed it
Chicago White Sox select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with No. 1 pick in MLB draft
‘I want to have fun with it.’ Katelyn Ohashi chasing joyful L.A. Olympic dream at 29
UCLA basketball lands highly touted Serbian small forward Nikola Kusturica
UCLA Unlocked: Former Bruin Jordin Canada is enjoying a Dream season
Have something Bruin?
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.