How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: #3 UCLA Bruins vs. Northwestern Wildcats
The Bruins begin a two-game road trip to Illinois with a game against the Wildcats.
This afternoon, the UCLA women’s basketball team plays the first game of a two-game road trip which will see the Bruins face Northwestern and Illinois. Tip-off for today’s game is scheduled for 1 pm PT and it will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Of course, on Wednesday, the Bruins won their eighth conference game of the season when they doubled up Purdue, 96-48. Meanwhile, the Wildcats lost to the Fighting Illini last Sunday, 74-71.
The ‘Cats are coached by Joe McKeown. He’s in his 18th season coaching Northwestern and he has led the Wildcats to a 278-266 record since he became the head coach.
Against the Illini, McKeown started a lineup with three guards and two forwards. Let’s look at the Wildcats’ starting five.
Northwestern Wildcats’ Starting Five
Northwestern is led by senior forward Grace Sullivan. She leads the Wildcats in scoring with an average of 22.1 ppg and she’s second in rebounding with an average of 6.9 rpg. She is also Northwestern’s mostt accurate shooter with a 56.4% shooting percentage. The Bruins won’t have to worry about her beyond the arc since she has only taken one three-point shot all season.
The other starting forward will be sophomore Tayla Thomas. In addition to being third on the team in scoring with an average of 10.1 ppg, she leads the team in rebounds with an average of 8.5 rpg and in blocks with 29.
Junior Casey Harter will be one of the starting guards. She is averaging 10.4 ppg, which is second on the team; and, her 39.4% three-point percentage makes her Northwestern’s best shooter from long-range.
While senior guard Caroline Lau is averaging just 8.0 ppg, she leads the team in assists with 174. That’s just two assists behind every other player on the team combined. Lau’s 30.0% three-point percentage is the third-best on the team.
Last but not least, sophomore Xamiya Walton is second-best on the team in three-point percentage with 39.0%. Walton’s 16 steals is good for second on the Wildcats.
McKeown seems to utilize at least four players off the bench in each game, but the only one who makes much of an impact is Tate Lash, who is averaging 5.7 ppg. Every other reserve is averaging less than two points per game.
Last Time Out
Against Purdue, the game was over in the first minute as UCLA began with a 7-0 run. Kiki Rice scored the first bucket of the gam, while Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkins tacked on a layup and a three, respectively.
By the end of the first quarter UCLA had a commanding 22-8 lead. The Bruins opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run and they finished the half up 46-20.
The Bruins continued to dominate in the second half, though they only outscored the Boilermakers 22-18 in the third quarter and it was 68-38 heading into the fourth. UCLA almost tripled up Purdue in the fourth quarter. The Bruins outscored them 28-10 to wrap up a 96-48 win.
Garbiela Jaquez led all scorers with 25 as every UCLA starter finished in double figures. Both Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice finished with double-doubles. Betts scored 16 and grabbed 10 rebounds while Rice scored 15 and pulled down 10 boards.
Analysis
This afternoon’s game should be another dominating performance as Northwestern has dropped six of eight conference games.
#3 UCLA Women’s Basketball (18-1, 8-0)
Opponent: Northwestern Wildcats (8-11, 2-6)
Series Record: Series tied, 1-1.
When: 1:00 pm PT, Sunday, January 25, 2026
Where: Welsh Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
TV: BTN with Shimmy Miller and Chris Vosters
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
Radio/Audio
Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 160 and XM Ch. 195 (UCLA Call)
Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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I wish more of the Bruin Fam joined these threads for the Lady Bruins. This team is pretty spectacular, so much fun to watch and has a great chance of winning the Nattie! 💙💛💙💛
As expected, Bruins moved up to #2 in the AP poll.