#4 UCLA Bruins Crush #17 Southern Cal, 80-46
The Bruins made a statement tonight at home against the Trojans.
Boy, does Southern Cal miss Juju Watkins.
Last season, when UCLA met Southern Cal in the regular season, the Trojans came out ahead by 11 points at the Galen Center and by 13 points at Pauley Pavilion.
I am happy to report that in the first meeting between these schools this season, UCLA won easily, 80-46.
But it wasn’t a blowout out of the gate.
The first quarter saw the teams go back and forth. While UCLA jumped out to a quick 8-3 lead with 6:34 left on a jumper by Lauren Betts, the Trojans came back and led by two with 43 second left.
One of the highlights of the first quarter was the resounding chorus of boos that Bruin faithful gave to former Bruin and current Trojan Londynn Jones every time she touched the ball. Jones actually took the last shot of the first quarter but it was an airball and the teams finished the first quarter tied at 16 a piece.
The Bruins began to pull away in the second quarter. After Jazzy Davidson hit a jumper to break the tie, Lauren Betts came right back with a jumper of her own to tie it back up.
Angela Dugalić put the Bruins ahead for good with 8:21 left in the half and UCLA took a 20-18 lead. Just 30 second later, Dugalić doubled the Bruin lead.
While Kara Dunn hit a three-pointer for Southern Cal to close the gap to just a point, the Bruins stretched their lead to six on two free throws by Gabriela Jaquez and three more free throws by Gianna Kneepkens, who was fouled on a three-point attempt.
UCLA ended the half on a 16-2 run as the Bruins took control of this game and led 43-28 at the break.
It didn’t get any better for the Trojans in the second half.
Lauren Betts got the Bruins going with the first bucket of the second half when she hit a hook shot. From there, it was all Bruins in the third as UCLA outscored their crosstown rivals 22-12 in the quarter and it was 65-40 after three.
Both teams were scoreless in the first two and a half minutes of the final quarter. Finally, Betts scored to put UCLA up by 27 and, just over four minutes later, the Bruins had stretched it again. This time, they stretched it to 34 points.
While an Amanda Muse free throw would put UCLA up by as many as 35, Kiki Rice hit the Bruins final shot with ten seconds left to seal the 80-46 final.
Lauren Betts led all scorers with 18 points and her twelve rebounds gave her fifth double-double of the season. Gianna Kneepkens scored 15 despite only hitting two threes all game. Kiki Rice added 14 points with eight assists and Gabriela Jaquez put up twelve.
The Bruins held their rivals to just 10 points in the paint while scoring 42 themselves. That was almost the difference in this game.
It was UCLA’s second Top 20 win this week and, overall, it was a very good win over their crosstown rivals.
Next week, the Bruins are back on the road with a game at Nebraska on Sunday, January 11 and at Minnesota on Wednesday, January 14th. UCLA’s next home game will be on Sunday, January 18 when the Bruins face Maryland at Pauley Pavilion. Tip-off for that game is slated for 1 pm PT.
Go Bruins!!!
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