Postgame Talk: UCLA Advances to B1G Championship Game With 72-62 Victory Over Ohio State

The Bruins put up a great defensive performance to counteract some lackadaisical offense.

Kiki Rice (Photo Credit: @UCLAWBB)

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Writing about the UCLA Bruins in the Big Ten Conference Tournament can be a challenge at times. The Bruins have proven that they are a cut above the rest of what has been an exceptionally strong conference, and so there is a belief that this team could sleepwalk its way through the conference tournament and still pick up a second-straight conference tournament championship.

Unfortunately, UCLA seems dead-set on trying to prove that theory correct.

Just one day after the Bruins meandered through a victory over Washington to open tournament play, UCLA spent most of their semifinal matchup against Ohio State looking out of sorts, missing a bevy of open looks and not doing a great job of taking care of the ball. Of course, because this is the 2025-2026 UCLA women’s basketball team, that still meant that the Bruins were able to keep the Buckeyes at arm’s length, never letting their lead get under seven points in the second half, as UCLA ultimately coasted to a 72-62 victory.

Credit to Ohio State for having a plan. The Buckeyes were focused on limiting Lauren Betts and denying her the ball as much as possible, and for the most part, they succeeded. Betts finished with 14 points on 7-13 shooting, but she had to work hard for those points, including one moment late in the 4th quarter when she had to drive from the perimeter to the basket. Betts also hit a number of midrange jumpers, which was encouraging to see as far as growing as an offensive threat, but it speaks to how well Ohio State defended her that she was forced into taking so many of those shots in the first place. In general, the Buckeyes committed to keeping UCLA out of the paint, and for the most part, they were effective - Ohio State won the battle in the paint 30 to 26, which is a wild stat considering the advantage UCLA theoretically has on the interior.

The Buckeyes also did a great job of attacking the glass against some lackadaisical UCLA effort. The Bruins will typically have a height and length advantage against any team they play, but you would not have known that from watching this game. The teams tied for 34 rebounds apiece, and the Buckeyes even did a better job at grabbing offensive rebounds, grabbing 11 compared to 10 for the Bruins (which, for those of you who love rate stats, also came out to a better rate, as they grabbed 30.6% of their misses compared to 28.6% for UCLA).

UCLA’s offense, in general, was a struggle for most of the game. The Bruins finished the game shooting 44.4% from the field, but that only tells part of the story. One of my big problems with this team at times is how often they can look lost if opponents take away what they want to do on offense, and that was the case here. With Betts contained on offense, it put more on the plates of UCLA’s other star talents, and outside of Kiki Rice, it is hard to say that group played up to their talent level. Gabriela Jaquez struggled from the field, only making four of her 12 shots for 10 points, while Gianna Kneepkens was not much better, putting up 13 points on 5-13 shooting. Rice did lead the team with 17 points, but even that was a struggle, as she went 6-17 from the field. And Charlisse Leger-Walker did not seem like her normal self; while she did lead the team with six assists, she finished with only two points and only took four shots in general, as she struggled with foul trouble throughout. Credit to Angela Dugelic for coming off the bench and providing a spark, scoring 14 points on 4-6 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in 28 minutes of action.

And, yes, we can mention the officiating quickly. It was bad! There were multiple instances where replay showed UCLA players getting slapped across the face or grabbed while trying to grab a ball or simply existing on the basketball court, only to have the call go against them. The fouls and free throws ended up similar by the end of the game (in large part because Ohio State was forced to foul to try and extend the game), but the officiating allowed the Buckeyes to keep things closer than it should have been.

Despite those issues, the Bruins found a way to win, and they can credit their defense for coming through. UCLA held Ohio State to 36.8% shooting from the field, including holding one of the Big Ten’s best three-point shooting teams to just 6-18 (33.3%) from three. The Bruins forced 15 turnovers from the Buckeyes, with 10 of those coming off of steals, while the Bruins grabbed six blocks as well. Lauren Betts, the reigning and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was tremendous on that end of the court, constantly switching onto Ohio State’s speedy guards and containing them. Ohio State’s star pair of Kennedy and Jaloni Cambridge were limited to only 18 combined points on a brutal 7-25 shooting, with Betts and Angela Dugelic combining to make things miserable for the two guards on the interior. Chance Gray was able to explode for 23 points, but she did most of her damage against UCLA’s guards, hitting four of her seven threes and making all seven of her free throws.

The Bruins advanced to their second-straight Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship Game, where they will play the winner of Iowa and Michigan. Both teams can give the Bruins trouble, but if UCLA shows up focused and locked in to start, they should be able to grab another tournament championship.

The question will be if this team can finally show up and put together that kind of performance in this tournament, or if it is even necessary.

Go Bruins!

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