The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team defeated the Penn State Lady Lions 83-67. With a 17-0 overall record, the Bruins have the best start in program history.
Due to the wildfires that devastated parts of the Los Angeles area, Cal State Long Beach housed the matchup. Their contest against Northwestern on Sunday had to be postponed in the wake of the emergency.
UCLA head coach Cori Close and the players were grateful to the first responders and firefighters who contained the fires. They were also joyous to return to competition to help fans escape their challenges for a few hours.
“There’s been some real anxiousness and difficulty and we get to play and there has to be this sense of gratitude,” Close said. “I wrote on the board before the game “shine” … and that shine is not for yourself, that shine is to bring joy to the people around you.”
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Bruins junior center Lauren Betts led all scorers with 22 points and all rebounders with 22 boards all while being double-teamed throughout the contest. Betts tied the UCLA women’s basketball single-game blocks record with seven blocks.
The Bruins were slow to start, trailing by two heading into the second quarter. Betts knows what the Bruins are capable of but they did not show up the way that they desired. The game consisted of eight lead changes and three ties.
“I think that in practice, preparing for this game, we could have done a little better and I thought it showed a little bit,” Betts said.
UCLA grad student forward Angela Dugalić noted how each game this season brought on a challenge to the team.
“I think it was the first quarter [assistant coach Tasha Brown] was saying “do your reset routine, get back to neutral,” Dugalić said. “Knowing our standard of this team, where we want to go, we have to improve a lot.”
As the Bruin guards began to get rebounds and the team revved up their defense, they found their stride.
“Who was going to step up and make sure we get stops? … they had to decide out there,” Close said. “Obviously, we needed to stop the run and regroup a little bit. We went zone on a couple possessions and I thought that helped us.”
Guard Kiki Rice made two fast-break layups, helping the Bruins to a 12-2 run late in the second phase.
As UCLA led by as much as 20 points, Penn State remained competitive. During the fourth, the Lady Lions went on a 11-2 run, chopping their deficit down to seven. However, the Bruins made shots in the final minutes to stay ahead.
Penn State grad student guard Gabby Elliot and freshman Talayah Walker tied for 17 points. UCLA earned a 20-point benefit from the 15 turnovers that Penn State made. The Bruins also outrebounded the Lady Lions 41-31.
The Bruins will head to Newark, NJ for the Coretta Scott King Classic. UCLA will battle Baylor on January at 12:00P.M.