SACRAMENTO – After UCLA’s Final Four run last season, Angela Dugalić sat down with coach Cori Close. The portal was open and the carousel of players leaving their schools and committing to others was already in full swing. Dugalić’s role at UCLA was up in the air. But that didn’t matter.
“I want to do whatever I can to help this team,” Dugalić said. “Bring me off the bench. I don’t care.”
UCLA’s roster is stacked. Six players, including Dugalić, are projected to be selected in this year’s WNBA Draft. But all six can’t start, so Close took Dugalić up on her offer. It paid off in a big way, with UCLA going undefeated in conference play and getting back to the Sweet Sixteen for the second season in a row. Dugalić was also named Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year after averaging 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
“Coming off the bench, that was a sacrifice,” senior center Lauren Betts said. “But I’m really proud of her for winning Sixth Player of the Year, because she truly deserved it. Her selflessness this year has been so special and crucial for us, and I think it sets the tone for the whole team.”
That selflessness extends past just coming off the bench. It goes all the way to the paint.
At 6-foot-4, Dugalić is a big guard, and over her first few seasons at UCLA that’s exactly how she liked to play. Dugalić preferred floating around the three-point line hoping to get a kick-out, or beating her defender off the dribble for a pull-up jumper. Posting up was a tool she rarely utilized.
That wasn’t always the case. In high school and during her freshman year at Oregon, Dugalić loved posting up. But when she tore her ACL in October of 2022, Dugalić was forced to change her game. Suddenly, battling in the paint was daunting, and the finesse of playing on the perimeter felt safe.
“The transition of coming back from an ACL injury is tough,” she said. “I became a lot more comfortable shooting. It took a few years to become fully comfortable with the physicality of playing in the post without being nervous or scared of getting reinjured.”
Heading into her final season at UCLA, Dugalić knew she had to reintroduce post play to her game.
UCLA is bursting with talent in the guard department, with Kiki Rice, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens and Gabriela Jaquez. But with only Lauren Betts as a true center, and freshman forward Sienna Betts missing time to start the year with an injury, the Bruins needed another inside presence.
“I think she’s established that she’s a really good stretch four, but her willingness to use all the skills in her bag are at a different level this year,” Close said. “That’s why I said at the beginning of the tournament, she’s our X-factor. She’s usually a major mismatch for whoever we face. So to the extent that we can really get consistency out of that mismatch, I think that’s an incredible advantage for us in this tournament.”
When UCLA plays Minnesota in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, Dugalić’s versatility will be particularly important. The Gophers play a four-guard lineup, and with Lauren Betts in the paint, Dugalić will likely be defended by a smaller player. In their previous meeting during Big Ten play, Dugalić had 9 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
“If she can really assert herself in the post and react going to the perimeter second, that puts us in a really good position because most people are not wanting to rotate off of Lauren,” Close said. “So for us to be able to take advantage of Angela in that spot is going to be a really important piece.”
Being a mismatch is a point of pride for Dugalić. And while post play is an emphasis, Dugalić still gets a chance to use her guard skills. She’s played every position, from point guard to center at times this season. “Cori sometimes randomly allows me to become the one,” Dugalić said with a laugh.“I try to make the most out of it, and I’m pretty good at it. So if Kiki ever wants to play the four, we can switch. I’m ready for it.”
Dugalić’s versatility is helping the Bruins in their quest for a national title, but it will also help her as a professional basketball player. Playing in the WNBA is her goal, so despite those initial concerns about her ACL, Dugalić willingly took on her new role.
Just don’t call her a post player. She’s capable of so much more.
“I always wanted to be a big guard, and I still do,” she said. “But now I can do a little bit of everything.”
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