PHOENIX —UCLAsenior guard Kiki Rice's offseason was unlike any she's experienced.
After the Bruins' historic 34-3 season ended with a loss to UConn in the Final Four last April, Rice elected to undergo shoulder surgery after playing through shoulder pain all year. Rice said the move was "one of the best things I ever did," as evidenced by her career season that's ultimately helped the Bruins reach their first NCAA national championship game.
But when she was making the decision, Rice had more questions than answers. When would she be able to pick up a basketball again? Would she miss any games during her senior season? Would she feel better?
"It was my first time having a big surgery and being out for a long time," Rice told USA TODAY Sports. "It was tough just being out for a while and not being able to really shoot and use my right arm for four months."
Rice told USA TODAY Sports her shoulder now "feels a ton better." In the eight months since Rice picked up a basketball again, she's tallied career highs in points (15.1), rebounds (5.9) steals (1.5) and field goal percentage (49.1%). She's recovered so well her teammates forget she was sidelined six months last summer.
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"This year just coming back from an injury, not many people realize that," UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez said. "I even forget too because she just bounced back like nothing. And I think that's just a credit to her work ethic."
UCLA has credited its mental toughness as a distinguishing factor in its second consecutive run to the Final Four and Rice's monthslong rehab process was about her mental health just as much as it was physical.
"It was a little scary knowing that during the offseason when everyone else is working on things and able to get better, I wasn't necessarily able to do that in the most traditional ways," Rice recalled. "The hardest part was just the fact that I wasn't able to be out there and practice. ... I'm not used to being on the sidelines, so that was definitely difficult. But just continuing to set benchmarks, set milestones for myself to know that I'm still making progress and to have something to work towards."
When Rice got the green light to resume basketball activities, she hit the gym hard, so much so that head coach Cori Close had to ban Rice from additional workouts. "Every single day I have to ... because she's just going to pursue them at every turn," Close said with a laugh.
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Even when Rice couldn't physically improve her game, she "found intentional ways to grow in spite of her return to play protocols," Close said. Rice went to extra film sessions to build up her basketball IQ. She worked on her footwork with UCLA's strength and conditioning coach, all while giving her shoulder a rest.
"I found ways to get better in different ways," Rice said. "I did a ton of stuff with my left hand. I feel like my left hand has been pretty good this year. I did a lot of non-traditional basketball skill work and just be able to do that and find different ways to get better and look at the game from the different lens."
UCLA senior center Lauren Betts said Rice has "earned every single piece of this season and all the accolades."
"She's the hardest worker I know, and throughout her entire healing process, she was constantly just in the gym trying to get better, trying to remain her strength and her conditioning, and she was just never resting ever," Betts added. "She wants it so bad for this team, and she's so humble. And yeah, I just loved every step of this journey with her. She's one of my best friends, so I'm just really thankful for that."
Rice, Betts and Jaquez will play their final game in a UCLA uniform together on Sunday when the Bruins take on South Carolina in the NCAA national championship game. Rice has recorded double-digits in four of the five NCAA Tournament games, including a 21-point performance in UCLA's Sweet 16 win over Minnesota.
"It's really cool for me to have been able to have a great year after having surgery," Rice added.
Reach USA TODAY National Women's Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:UCLA's Kiki Rice says shoulder surgery 'one of the best things I ever did'