Women’s Basketball Adds Four in Recruiting Class of 2024


LOS ANGELES – UCLA Women’s Basketball signs four future student-athletes on National Signing Day.
 
“To be able to have another class that is top five in the country is such a compliment to my staff,” said the Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. “I’m so thankful for an amazing staff that so genuinely builds relationships and is so committed to our mission.”
 
The Bruins are the only collegiate program with three or more five-star recruits from the Class of 2024 committed to joining them next season.
 
“These four are dynamic, they’re committed to winning at the highest level, they’re good students and they want to make a difference in the community,” said Close. “These are continued people that UCLA is going to be proud to have represent it.”
 
Elina Aarnisalo – Mäkelänrinne Upper Secondary School (Helsinki, Finland)
UCLA adds another international student-athlete to its roster in the recruiting class of 2024; Elina Aarnisalo of Finland signs with the Bruins after verbally committing to UCLA in May 2023. “I was out recruiting this summer and a very successful head coach said to me, ‘Elina is going to be a difference-maker in your program,’” relayed coach Close. “She is a great facilitator, she is aggressive, she’s a great shooter and passer, she gets to the free throw line, she is just an impact-level player. We’re really lucky to have her.”
 
The 5-foot-10 guard has played in the Finland Korisliiga with HBA-Marksy, averaging 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game. She is currently rostered on the Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen in the BNXT League, Belgium’s top division for women’s basketball. The Finnish guard averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals on 46.7% shooting with the Kangoeroes during the 2023-24 Eurocup. Aarnisalo lit it up from outside, shooting 62.5% from distance (5-8 3FG) in four games played.
 
Aarnisalo led her team in scoring with 17.9 points in the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s European Championships. She added 4.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game to her stat line.
 
Avary Cain – Saint Joseph High School (Santa Maria, Calif.)
Avary Cain stays close to home; the Santa Maria, Calif., native will travel fewer than 200 miles to join UCLA with the recruiting class of 2024.
 
“Avary wants to be great,” said Close. “She’s going to make an immediate impact with her length and athleticism as a defender, but she’s also a really good long-range shooter. We’ve made a commitment to being able to spread the court and have consistency from beyond the arc, and I think her potential – she’s just scratching the surface but Avary is already a high-level, impact player.”
 
The five-star guard has been stellar for Saint Joseph during her high school career; she arrived with a bang her freshman year, averaging 19.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.9 steals per game during her first season. Most recently, Cain put up 21.1 points, grabbed 7.0 rebounds, threw 2.8 assists and swiped 3.5 steals per game in her junior campaign.
 
Kendall Dudley – Sidwell Friends School (Centreville, Va.)
The 6-foot-2 wing out of Sidwell Friends School committed to UCLA Women’s Basketball live on ESPNU in April 2023, the first female high school player to commit live on ESPN.
 

 
An all-around utility player, Dudley plays hard and stuffs the stat sheet. “When people talk to me about Kendall Dudley, they say ‘that kid is a winner, and she makes winning plays,’” said Close. “Every time you watch her play, she makes everyone around her better. Kendall is a great, versatile player – she can play multiple positions, she can guard multiple spots. She’s a great slasher, a great defender, she gets to the free throw line, and she’s a really good rebounder. Her offensive skillset is going to continue to go through the roof because she also has elite work ethic.”
 
As a freshman, the five-star wing averaged 8.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game suiting up next to then-teammate Kiki Rice at Sidwell Friends. After Rice’s departure, Dudley saw an increase in minutes and production – as a junior, Dudley averaged 9.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
 
Zania Socka – Sidwell Friends School (Silver Spring, Md.)
Zania “Big Z” Socka ranks 26th in the 2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings, according to espnW.
 
“Zania Socka might understand the mission of our program better than anyone in the class,” said Close. “The reason she was so committed to UCLA was because of our commitment to service in the community – she already has a foundation for women in West Africa, how impressive is that for someone at 17 years old?”
 
The five-star forward is an athletic wing, comfortable with the ball in her hands and who can finish on both sides of the basket. She is a multi-positional big that moves her feet and looks to protect the rim on the defensive end, impacting the game with her length and effort. Socka looks to reunite with Sidwell Friends teammates Dudley and Rice in a Bruin uniform. 
 
“Big Z is an elite rebounder, great screener, amazing defender,” said Close. “What makes her such a great fit for us is her commitment and work ethic to get better day by day, her true desire to use her platform to make an impact on others, and she’s an elite teammate. Big Z is going to be one of those people who makes your team go from really good individuals to a great team.”
 
The 6-foot-3 Socka played club basketball in the 2023 Nike Girls EYBL circuit with Dudley for Team Durant 17U, averaging 14 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 16 games tracked by Synergy Sports. Socka and Dudley also won the 2023 state championship together at Sidwell Friends.
 

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