Tears welled in the corners of Michaela Onyenwere’s eyes from her seat on the sideline.
This wasn’t the ending the UCLA All-American envisioned.
The senior’s storied UCLA career ended Wednesday with a 71-62 loss to No. 6 seed Texas in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Onyenwere had 23 points and five rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to will the third-seeded Bruins (17-6) to their fifth straight regional semifinal. Instead, the Longhorns (20-9) will advance to face No. 2 seed Maryland.
Onyenwere, UCLA’s first-ever two-time All-American, moved into fourth place on UCLA’s all-time scoring list with 1,890 career points, but watched the final seconds of her collegiate career tick by from the bench after fouling out with 3:23 remaining in the fourth quarter with the Bruins down by 12.