Michaela Onyenwere tried her best not to let her emotions get the best of her Friday night. It was Senior Night for the UCLA women’s basketball program, albeit a virtual one – parents and family members celebrated with their daughters via the video board at Pauley Pavilion, rather than in person – but it was still the last home game, four years of triumphs and struggles distilled into 40 minutes against crosstown rival USC.
This night it was triumphs, overwhelmingly.
The Bruins smoked the Trojans, 93-51, and the 29-12 second quarter with which UCLA took control was the launching pad for a 30-point night for Onyenwere, with 12 points including two 3-pointers. She went on to make all six of her tries from beyond the arc, and she also grabbed eight rebounds to complement sophomore Charisma Osborne’s triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists).
Onyenwere’s 30 points in 30 minutes gave her 1,776 in 118 career games and enabled her to climb two spots on UCLA’s all-time scoring list, moving into ninth past Anita Ortega and Monique Billings.
And when it was over, and emotions could be released without fear, Onyenwere was the one consoling fellow senior Lauryn Miller on the bench when she was overcome by the moment. That, too, is part of the package that has enabled her to enrich UCLA’s program over the last four seasons.
“I wrote (her players) all letters today and I pretty much cried through writing all of them,” Coach Cori Close said. “With Michaela, I told her, ‘You are one of the top players to ever play at UCLA.’ But the thing that makes it most special is that that’s not what she values most. She values the experience, how she’s grown, how she’s impacted people. But it makes it really easy to celebrate her, right? And it really makes it easy to root for her.
“So obviously, yeah, I think (a night like this) was very fitting.”
Onyenwere arrived at UCLA as a Colorado’s High School Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American, which made her hardly unusual in a high-profile college program. But she made good on her promise when she got to Westwood. She has played in all but one game in four seasons, and she stepped up to be a leader when Billings and Jordin Canada left for the WNBA after her freshman season, leaving her comfort zone to speak up when necessary.
(That even meant correcting the pronunciation of her name that everyone had been butchering her first two seasons. The Bruins’ media literature now lists the pronunciation as OWN-yen-WED-ay.)
The Bruins have more work to do, beginning with the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas next week and then another crack at the NCAA Tournament. But Onyenwere almost certainly will follow Billings and Canada to the next level.
“I still don’t think she’s shown everything she is and that she can do,” said Miller, her teammate through this entire journey. “There’s just no ceiling to her game. And it’s just been so fun to watch her blossom. It’s really just a matter of when she’s confident enough to do something, because everything’s in the toolbox. She’s going to have the work ethic to obtain whatever isn’t as sharp as it needs to be.
“Whatever Michaela wants to obtain, she’s going to do. Whatever she wants to accomplish, she’s going to accomplish it. Yeah, I wish I could act surprised, but I’m not in the least.”
USC coach Mark Trakh almost certainly will be delighted to see her go to the WNBA. He cited her athletic gifts – her father, Peter Onyenwere, was an Olympic sprinter for Nigeria – and said those are complimented by her effort and drive.
“It’s a combination of things,” she said. “It’s her heart, it’s her effort. She’s got the whole package.
“Tonight she shot the three. That turnaround jumper’s unstoppable. You know, I don’t know (anyone) outside of anybody that plays in the NBA that can get up there and block that. She’s a great player, and I’m sure she’s going to have a great professional career.”
First, there was that Senior Night obstacle. It turns out the basketball was the easy part.
“I’m not an emotional person, really, so I’ve been just trying to relish the moment,” Onyenwere said afterward. “They played a video earlier with our parents and people who care about us saying nice things about us, and that almost got me, honestly. And Lauryn made a video of us, too. We came in together, so she made a video of us, and that almost got me, too. So I’ve been almost on the verge of tears, but not yet. Nobody’s got me yet.
“I’m so grateful to be able to have this moment, to have this opportunity. And like I’ve said before, I would never have picked another place. I know I picked the right place, coming to UCLA. I’m just so grateful. I’m so thankful. But I do know we have a lot of basketball left. So I think that’s what’s keeping me up, keeping me happy and not so sad today.”
The trick to surviving Senior Night, then, might be looking to the future.
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