Russell Westbrook's wife Nina Westbrook showers UCLA Lady Bruins coach Cori Close with heartfelt appreciation
Former UCLA Lady Bruins player and Russell Westbrook's wife, Nina Westbrook, applauded coach Cori Close after a historic win on Saturday. Close became the winningest coach in UCLA women's basketball program history with 297 victories, surpassing Billie Moore's record.
In an Instagram post, the UCLA Women's Basketball account congratulated their longtime coach for her accomplishment. Close has been in charge of the Lady Bruins since 2011, leading them to eight NCAA tournament appearances. They made the Elite Eight in 2018 and won the WNIT in 2015.
One former Lady Bruin who greeted her was Nina Earl, who is now known as Mrs. Westbrook. She's one of several ex-UCLA players to congratulate Close for her record 297th career win. Nina commented several clapping hands on the Instagram post.
Cori Close was hired to coach the UCLA Lady Bruins in 2011 after 18 years as an assistant coach to various programs like UC Santa Barbara and Florida State. Close was an assistant at UCLA from 1993 to 1995 before moving to Santa Barbara.
The Lady Bruins are currently ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25, ahead of UConn, South Carolina, LSU and USC. Close is not just trying to lead UCLA to their first Final Four appearance, but also their first-ever NCAA women's championship.
For her 297th win, the Lady Bruins dominated Long Beach State 102-51 for their 10th overall victory of the season. Angela Dugalic and Lauren Betts each scored 22 points to lead UCLA.
As for Nina Westbrook, she played four seasons for the Lady Bruins, from 2007 to 2011. She primarily came off the bench for UCLA during her tenure, with career averages of 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
Russell and Nina Westbrook began dating in college
Russell Westbrook played two seasons for the UCLA Bruins from 2006 to 2008. Westbrook began dating Nina Earl in 2007, and they have been a couple ever since.
She has been very supportive of his NBA career, tying the knot and officially becoming Nina Westbrook on Aug. 29, 2015, in Beverley Hills, as reported by People Magazine.
Speaking to Access Hollywood in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nina revealed that playing against each other was part of their early romance. She only stopped because Russell was "cheating" to beat her on the court.
"The beginning of our relationship was really fun," Nina said. "We used to play together all the time. I'd beat Russell in one-on-one. I had to stop playing him because he became a cheater. If the only way you can beat me is by cheating, we don't need to play anymore."
Russell and Nina Westbrook have three children together, a son named Noah born in May 2017, and twin daughters Skye and Jordyn, born in December 2018.