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UCLA's Kiki Rice AP Diary: On to the Sweet 16!

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Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, right, drives as Sacramento State guard Benthe Versteeg defends during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 18, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

GREENVILLE, S.C. ā€“ What a fun atmosphere that was!

Playing in my first NCAA Tournament was a blast and to get to play the first two rounds at home was special. The crowd was incredible and that was one of the best environments weā€™ve had all season.

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I admit I was a little nervous before the first game. In the back of my head and that of my teammates, you always know that it could be the last game of the season. I wanted to go out there and play as hard as I could and make sure that didnā€™t happen.

Getting a basket early calmed me down a little bit and having a good start to the first quarter really helped too.

It also always calms me down a bit that we had our pregame dance party. It keeps us loose and we have fun. Itā€™s one of my favorite things about this team.

Whatever is on DJ Brynn (Masikewichā€™s) play list is what we dance to. Sheā€™ll always put on good tunes for us to get us in the right mindset.

While the first game went really well, that second game was something. We knew Oklahoma was a good team and even though we were up big early, we knew they werenā€™t going to quit. They sure didnā€™t.

Fortunately Charisma (Osborne) had an incredible last home game with 36 points. It was so great for her and the other seniors to win their final game at Pauley.

I love being in close games. Donā€™t get me wrong, I donā€™t want to lose, but as a competitor itā€™s more exciting to play in a game that comes down to the end then one when you win by 30.

Now with two wins down, weā€™re on to South Carolina!

Weā€™re excited for the challenge of playing the Gamecocks. They are undefeated this year and the overall No. 1 seed and we wonā€™t take them lightly. A lot of people donā€™t think we can do it, but we have a ton of confidence in ourselves. Itā€™s a business trip and definitely not going to be easy at all and weā€™re looking forward to the challenge.

We played them early in the season and we didnā€™t win, but it was a close game in the fourth quarter and we were right there. We both have gotten a lot better since that game.

Weā€™ve gone on trips before and on the long plane rides, people sleep and watch movies. We also have an hour-long study hall. Thatā€™s important, especially this time of year. Weā€™re still in finals right now and I have a couple due before Friday. My plan is to get them done before the trip so that I donā€™t have to be thinking about the work on the plane.

I try to be a planner and get ahead of things and not wait until the last minute,

A couple quick shoutouts before we get on this plane: Thanks to the NCAA for the cool swag. They gave us some cool gear with the shorts, top, jacket and bucket hat. Also some socks, too. I heard weā€™ll get more stuff in Greenville.

Also thanks to Professor Lang, my English teacher. He surprised me by having my No. 1 jersey that he bought from the bookstore. They donā€™t sell them with names on them, but he went out and put my name on the back of it. It was really cool to sign it for him. Itā€™s so great that he and my classmates support us.

Time to go to work in South Carolina. Go Bruins!

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UCLA freshman Kiki Rice is checking in periodically during the NCAA Tournament. She helped the Bruins earn a four-seed and advanced to the Sweet 16.

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25


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