UCLA Coach Close Says WNBA Planning Trails League Growth, Criticizes Officiating

UCLA women's basketball coach Cori Close said the WNBA's business operations and officiating need to catch up with the league's growth in attendance and viewership, speaking at the Bruins' preseason media day on Tuesday. Close's comments came ahead of Game 6 of the WNBA Finals, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. PT Thursday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The Golden State Valkyries lead the series 3-2 over the Atlanta Dream. A Valkyries win would deliver the franchise a title in its second season. The game's morning start follows a scheduling conflict with the Atlanta Hawks' matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers that night.

The Dream ordinarily play at Gateway Center, which holds about 3,500 fans, but have moved postseason games to State Farm Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, which seats roughly 17,000.

Close pointed to the league's viewership numbers. The WNBA averaged 771,000 viewers per game this season, a figure the Sports Business Journal reported was the league's most watched season since 2000, according to Yahoo! Sports. The series features two former Bruins: Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, a walk-on point guard who graduated in 2002, and Dream guard Jordin Canada, who played for Close from 2014 to 18 and is averaging 14.9 points and 7.8 assists per game.

"I think it got exposed that it didn't match this time," Close said of the scheduling. "I'm not in those rooms. I don't know whether or not they believed their team would actually get there or if we were afraid they wouldn't sell out." Close also addressed officiating after Game 5, a 64-55 Valkyries win Monday in San Francisco that drew criticism from Dream coach Dean Smesko and forward Angel Reese over physical contact that went uncalled. "To take advantage of the incredible movement we are seeing within our game, the officiating has to rise with it," Close said.

UCLA opens its title defense Monday against Lehigh ranked 11th in the country. Six players from the national championship team were selected in April's WNBA draft, five of them in the first round: Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic to the Washington Mystics, Gabriela Jacquez to the Chicago Sky, Kiki Rice to the Toronto Tempo, and Gianna Kneepkens to the Connecticut Sun. Charlisse Leger-Walker went to the Sun in the second round.