Postgame Talk: UCLA Explodes in the Second Half, Beating Richmond 84-67 to Advance to the Sweet Sixteen

The Bruins used a 29-7 third quarter to put away the Spiders for the victory.

Lauren Betts scores two of her thirty points to help the Bruins past the Richmond Spiders in the Second Round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. (Photo Credit: Joe Piechowski)

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Again, going to try a new thing for this game where you guys get an overall recap up top, followed by a running diary of my thoughts as the game progresses.

I said at the end of Friday’s postgame that UCLA was going to have its hands full with the Richmond Spiders, and boy did that turn out to be true. Richmond is one hell of team, playing tremendously disciplined basketball on offense and matching it with some scrappy defense that flummoxed the Bruins for long stretches. Maggie Doogan is true bucket-getter and excellent all-around player, and UCLA needed to be completely focused on both ends in order to secure a victory.

For most of the game, that did not seem to be the case, as Richmond was able to generate an excessive amount of good looks at the basket throughout, allowing them to hang around and go toe-to-toe with the Bruins for the first 20 minutes. Unfortunately for Richmond, and fortunately for the people likely reading this, UCLA finally figured some things out coming out of halftime, making a few key adjustments to how they played Richmond’s motion. The Bruins combined that with a scoring outburst that put a ton of pressure on the Spiders, and that proved to be the difference, as UCLA cruised to an 84-67 victory to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive year.

All credit to Richmond here, because for three of the four quarters this was an evenly-matched outing. The game was tied at the half and Richmond made a spirited late run to try and get back in the game, but the damage had been done in that third quarter. Coach Close mentioned in the postgame that Richmond presented a unique matchup problem for the Bruins in that they play a five-out system where everyone is a threat to shoot and make a shot from distance, which meant Lauren Betts wasn’t able to sit in the paint and clean up any miscues by her teammates. Five Spiders made three-pointers, but just as important was the fact that Richmond was able to score 34 points in the paint, as Richmond hit the Bruins with a flurry of back-cuts and multiple screening actions that required a commitment to defensive focus that was simply lacking for much of the game.

But again, that third quarter exists, and it was here that UCLA was able to extend the lead by a significant margin. UCLA outscored Richmond 29-7 in that third period, holding the Spiders to 20% from the field and 1-6 from deep. Doogan, who was exceptional throughout, had easily her worst stretch of the game during that quarter, only scoring two points on 1-5 shooting, ultimately sitting the final two minutes of the quarter to try and reset herself for the fourth (which worked, she had nine points on a perfect 3-3 from the field, but at that point the game was effectively out of reach). Coach Close mentioned that one of the changes was to how Betts was guarding the outside shooters, but from my vantage point the bigger changes were a combination of UCLA upping its defensive intensity and Close splitting primary Doogan duties between Gabriela Jaquez and Janiah Barker, who both have the athleticism to stay in front of Doogan and limit her effectiveness. Kendall Dudley was able to come in during the 4th and do some similar things as well.

Perhaps bigger than the defensive adjustments was that the UCLA offense went into Death Star mode during that third quarter. It was not as though UCLA was bad on offense throughout the game - UCLA shot 46.7% in the first half - but that third quarter was an offensive onslaught that put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Spiders to play perfectly to match, and as was often the case this season, UCLA’s opponent was unable to do so. It was not just the inside game, with Lauren Betts scoring 10 points in the 3rd quarter alone, but on the outside as well, with UCLA hitting five of their eight three-point attempts. Each three-pointer hit by Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones felt like a backbreaker, and the UCLA faithful in attendance responded in kind with a thunderous roar that was deafening sitting at courtside.

For UCLA, they got the perfect Batman and Robin game from Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice. Betts was easily the best player on the court and, as Richmond coach Aaron Roussell mentioned after the game, they knew they did not have an answer for her and were content to let her get her points, which she did with gusto. Betts finished with 30 points on a ridiculous 14-17 shooting night, and honestly those numbers don’t even do her justice, as it felt like every time she got the ball in the paint it was going to go in. Betts also had 14 rebounds, good for a double-double, but she came close to having a double-double with offensive rebounds alone, as she had nine. UCLA was able to outscore Richmond 27-6 in second-chance points, and a large part of that had to do with Betts just being too big for Richmond to handle.

Kiki Rice, however, had my favorite game for the Bruins. I thought she played a near-perfect game for UCLA, and even her scoreline (23 points on 7-12 shooting, including 4-6 from three, to go with seven assists) does not do her justice. Rice was in complete control of the offense, knowing when to slow it down and play deliberately and when to push tempo and attack the Spiders in transition. I asked Lauren Betts in the postgame just how easy it makes things for her when Rice plays at this level, and Betts could only laugh and refer to Kiki as the “point god”. I’m sure Chris Paul would have objections to that, but who am I to deny Rice her well-earned praise?

Overall, the Bruins did not play their best game, but they ended with a comfortable win, which in the grand scheme of things may turn out to be a blessing. They’ll have plenty of tape on things they need to work on, and the team is intimately familiar with Ole Miss already thanks to the presence of former Bruin Christeen Iwuala (Coach Close mentioned that they watched virtually every Ole Miss game this season because of Iwuala and the coaching staff constantly referenced things that Ole Miss does on defense, which is probably not what the Rebels want to hear going into next week’s meeting). For now, the Bruins can celebrate the victory, but now the hard part begins.

On to the quarter notes.

1st Quarter Observations:

• UCLA switching everything, still works since the tallest Richmond player is 6-2. Richmond is able to take advantage of it but early shot-clock violation shows the problem of it. Also creates uncomfortable issues for Betts defensively, as Maggie Doogan can drag her out of the paint.

• UCLA's size already causing issues, especially offensively, as they're able to get inside in a hurry. Spiders throwing multiple bodies at Betts as soon as she touches it.

• Richmond playing with a lot of confidence to start here. At 3:11, they’re 100% (6-6) from the field and hitting all their free throws. Gardiner in particular is getting abused defensively.

• You could call a foul every time Betts touches the ball, will be interesting to see how the officials choose to approach that.

• Richmond scored 10 of their 20 points in the quarter in the paint. That can’t continue if the Bruins want to win.

2nd Quarter Observations:

• Good burst defensively to start the second. Doogan was able to slip free for an easy layup, but after that, the Bruins picked things up. UCLA is still going to need to find a way to get Betts closer to the basket, but she realized she could affect the outside shots without having to be on top of the opponent by putting her hands up (think Aday Mara against wings here).

• Lauren Betts on the interior here is a big cheat; Richmond has no interior answer so any time she touches the ball low it is automatic points.

• Is this going to be another game where Londynn Jones shoots the opponent into it? She’s missed all three of her shot attempts so far and the ball is just sticking to her in a way it isn’t for any other player.

• The Barker/Betts combo I talked about is already paying dividends here. Barker has generally stayed with Doogan, but offensively they’ve got a great two-man game, with Barker already up to three assists feeding Betts on the inside, and then punishing Richmond in the midrange if they sag off her to double Betts.

• And with Gardiner back in the game, Betts moves to Doogan instead of playing Addie Budnik. Interesting chess match going on here, but if Doogan isn’t going to even challenge Betts on the interior to try and draw fouls, that probably feels like a win for Coach Close.

• And now Jaquez switches to Doogan, but Richmond still just targeting Gardiner on defense. Another bad rotation from Gardiner causes Close to pull her.

• Halftime thoughts: Gardiner is basically unplayable, Barker and Dugalic need to eat up more of her minutes if she’s going to be that big of a negative on defense. The defense has to be more focused in general - Richmond is playing very patiently on offense and causing stress with their movement, so the Bruins have to be locked in on the switches. Close has to be willing to shorten the rotation if people aren’t performing.

• “Fun” halftime stat: Richmond is outscoring UCLA 20-16 in the paint. Not a great look when you have this kind of size advantage.

3rd Quarter Observations:

• Betts has not been able to impact things as much as she normally does defensively given how Richmond is playing on offense, but the few moments she does make it so clear how important she is on that end.

• It might not look like it on TV given the place is about 60% full, but it is LOUD down here. The crowd is incredibly engaged and cheering their hearts out, UCLA has a decided home advantage here. I’ve been in Pauley for big games before where things feel loud, but here at courtside, when the crowd really gets into it the place feels like it is going to explode.

• Bruins are feeling it now. Rice and Jones now hitting threes, which is stretching the Richmond defense thin having to guard more on the perimeter. In addition, the continued scoring by the Bruins is putting more pressure on Richmond to be perfect, which has led to some rushed shots late in the clock as the Bruins up the defensive intensity.

• Even Doogan is missing bunnies now. UCLA’s offensive onslaught is putting a ton of pressure on the Spiders. When the offense is rolling this team is suffocating, and Richmond is missing layups and making uncharacteristic mistakes.

• Maddie Doogan is coming out for a breather, and these might be critical minutes. Doogan played all 20 minutes in the first half, not sure how long Richmond can afford to sit her given how much the offense is struggling now.

• Richmond tried going to a zone late. It was not working at all.

• There are a lot of stats that tell the story of this half, but holding Richmond to 20% shooting definitely stands out. The 65.2% that they shot in the first half was perhaps unsustainable, but UCLA upped the defensive pressure and made things as uncomfortable as possible for the Spiders. On the flip side, UCLA shot 55% from the field and went 5-8 from the three-point line. That’ll do it.

4th Quarter Observations:

• Much better Gardiner performance this half. A lot of her value comes from her ability to stretch the court offensively, but if she can lock in more on defense then things get much better.

• Something to watch going forward: UCLA is getting killed on back cuts. Have to be much better defending those going forward, because opponents are going to key in on that.

• Richmond going on a bit of a mini-run here, getting UCLA out of sorts on defense and connecting on some deep shots. Bruins still have Betts at center and Gardiner hit a few threes, but this game is nowhere near over and UCLA’s defensive intensity has slipped this quarter.

• Betts has been the star this game, but Kiki Rice is having one hell of a game as her Robin. She’s been complete control of the offense, knowing when to be methodical and when to push pace, and she’s being smart about looking for her shot. This level of play from Rice takes UCLA to a whole new level.

• I think I’ve spent the entire game being impressed with Doogan. She’s so crafty as a scorer and is doing everything she can to keep Richmond in it.

• Richmond is going to need to foul here, but they have only one team foul with 1:15 to go. Looks like they’ll call off the dogs and the Bruins will win this one going away.

• Stat-watching: UCLA only outscored Richmond 36-34 in the paint, a combination of Lauren Betts gobbling everything up inside (and a commitment from Richmond to keep everyone else out of the paint as much as possible) and a testament to how poorly UCLA defended the cutting actions of Richmond. Again, something to monitor going forward.

• On the flip side, UCLA outscored Richmond 27-6 in second-chance points, and that might be the bigger story of this game. UCLA shot fine, but when you end up taking 20 more shots than your opponent thanks to offensive rebounds and forcing turnovers, that’s going to give you a pretty good advantage.

Go Bruins! Off to Spokane!

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