Postgame Talk: UCLA Finds A Championship Form Late to Put Away Duke 70-58, Advancing to Second Straight Final Four
The Bruins faced adversity but came back in the second half to punch their ticket to Phoenix.
At halftime, the UCLA Bruins found themselves in an unfamiliar position.
For only the second time this season, UCLA found itself trailing, and its 39-31 deficit belied just how thoroughly the Bruins had been outplayed in the half. From almost the opening tip, the Duke Blue Devils had been the aggressors, playing with a sense of purpose and urgency that was not present on the UCLA bench. Duke looked like a team playing with all the confidence in the world, recognizing what UCLA wanted to do on both ends of the court and coming up with the perfect counters. The Bruins were out of sorts, committing 12 turnovers and devolving into their worst offensive tendencies. It was, as they say, a disaster, and history was not on their side; the last time the Bruins entered the half trailing this season was during their lone loss of the year against Texas.
But the Bruins had experience of their own, and when you’ve won 34 games on the season (28 of them since the loss to Texas), that is going to give you plenty of experience to fall back on. We’ve talked about this UCLA squad as having championship aspirations, and what we saw in the second half was a championship-level performance from the Bruins, as UCLA came out with exceptional determination and focus en route to a 70-58 victory, advancing to their second straight national championship.
UCLA was able to climb back into the game thanks to two factors: its defense and protecting the ball better. In the first half, Duke was able to get whatever it wanted on the offensive end, shooting 53.1% from the field and hitting a variety of open shots. The Bruins opted to put Lauren Betts in drop coverage, hedging against the driving capability of Duke guard Taina Mair, but by dropping back, it created easy looks for Mair from the elbow. Then, when UCLA adjusted by having Lauren come up on the switch more, the guards were slow in rotating, leading to easy baskets. UCLA had the advantage on the interior as expected, but Duke was able to keep pace on points in the paint, scoring 24 points compared to 28 for the Bruins. And on offense, the Bruins struggled to hold on to the ball, finishing the half with 12 turnovers and allowing Duke to get a load of easy baskets in transition.
Things changed in the second half. Duke finished with a full game shooting total of 38.7%, in large part because the Blue Devils were held to 23.3% in the second half. UCLA challenged everything that Duke wanted to do on the offensive end, from challenging the Blue Devils at the rim (Duke only had eight points in the paint in the second half) to pushing out to the perimeter, forcing the Blue Devils into longer and longer shots as they tried to keep pace with the relentless UCLA attack. The Bruins were much more aggressive as well, grabbing five steals in the second half after only registering one in the first.
On the flip side, the offense finally settled down, in large part because the players stopped turning the ball over. The Bruins only had six turnovers in the second half, in large part because the team stopped forcing bad passes and were more patient with the ball. They still had some bad offensive moments, particularly whenever Kiki Rice decided to do too much with the ball, but nine assists on 15 made baskets speak to a good amount of selflessness.
And even when they missed, the Bruins were likely scoring, thanks to the twin hydra of Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic. Both senior bigs were sensational, with Lauren putting on her cape en route to a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds; 15 points and eight of those rebounds came in the second half. Dugalic was equally impressive, scoring nine of her 15 points in the second half to go along with six rebounds. The two players combined for 24 of UCLA’s 39 second-half points, and carried the load for an offense that was stuck in neutral for much of it.
Were things perfect? Absolutely not. As I mentioned, Kiki Rice in particular had a game that I’m sure she would like to forget, finishing with seven points on 2-10 shooting, and while she only had one official turnover, you could very easily put the blame for all three shot-clock violations on her. Charlisse Leger-Walker, one game after a wildly efficient performance, finished with three turnovers and was a bit too loose with her passing. Gianna Kneepkens had a Sacramento regional to forget, looking like her shooting form was off, while Gabriela Jaquez had an average game by her standards. Sienna Betts was the only other player who saw the court, and while she scored four points, she barely saw the court as it was.
The best thing I can say for UCLA is that it got faced with real adversity for the first time in months and came out stronger because of it. Even in their struggles against Oklahoma State and Minnesota, it never felt that the Bruins were in danger of losing. This game felt different, so to look defeat in the eye and say “not today” speaks to their growth as a team and program. Coach Close’s teams have become infamous to an extent in their inability to rise up when they get punched in the mouth, so to see it happen today was a tremendous positive to build on.
Off to Phoenix. The real tournament begins now.
Here are my game notes:
First Quarter
Pregame thoughts: This is the first really intriguing game for the Bruins in the tournament. As usual, UCLA will have a talent advantage, but this is the first game where the opponent will have a coaching advantage. Kara Lawson is the head coach of Team USA for a reason, and you can bet she’s had plans percolating for how to adapt to the Bruins for round two. I’ll also throw out the familiarity factor here as well; yes, the Bruins won by 30 last time and were without Lauren Betts, but both teams were playing their second game in a row, and UCLA in particular was motivated after losing to Texas the night prior. Duke is a much-improved squad riding a wave of momentum, and I wonder if UCLA is going to come in complacent again.
Another game, another slow start for the Bruins. In particular, UCLA is turning the ball over at a high level, while defensively, Duke is attacking the drop coverage by Lauren Betts to make some elbow jumpers. Maybe the Bruins are hoping those shots stop falling, but Betts is good enough to play better coverage there.
Underrated aspect of the game so far: UCLA’s offense has been exceptionally simple, to the point that they have been very easy to defend. UCLA is not hiding its strategy of trying to get the ball to Betts, and as soon as Duke defends that, the guards are left to dribble out on the perimeter before trying to make something happen. The shot-clock violation was the epitome of these issues, as Kiki Rice was left dribbling on the wing with everyone else staring at her.
End of 1Q thoughts: Look, at some point, Cori Close is going to have to prove me wrong and make schematic changes to win a game, because right now Kara Lawson is running circles around her. UCLA’s defensive strategy is giving up way too many open midrange looks to a team of shooters, and on offense, everything is too simplistic. The offense issues have been a season-long issue that we have overlooked because, as it turns out, a hammer is mighty effective against most things, but Duke has it scouted really well and is making the Bruins pay. Six turnovers in the half speak to how out of sync the Bruins look.
Second Quarter
Gianna Kneepkens did not look set on that first three-point attempt, with her body leaning forward and throwing the shot off. Given how bad Gabriela Jaquez’s outside shot has been of late (she airballed a three on the next possession) the Bruins can ill afford having Kneepkens go into a slump as well.
Every part of that Kiki Rice fast break was ill-advised, and it still worked.
Toby Fournier has been the difference on the court so far for Duke. Yes, Taina Mair has been sensational, but Fournier has been the difference-maker defensively, helping limit Lauren Betts’s ability to get the ball down low.
Halftime thoughts: I’d say this is a shocking half of basketball, but then I’d be lying to you. UCLA has not faced a team that can truly challenge them for months, and for the first time since the Texas game, they’ve been punched in the mouth and are struggling to respond. UCLA is not generating any sort of easy offense, largely because they have not shown an ability to do so beyond their typical strategy of “Throw ball to Lauren and either kick out when defense collapses or get an easy shot at the rim”. Kara Lawson has done a tremendous job of preparing her team for this game, while Cori Close has not come, well, close. I expect the Bruins will make some adjustments in the second half (Duke especially faded against LSU on Friday), but this half will again sit as a good example of why national pundits do not seriously think the Bruins can challenge UConn for the title.
More: The defense has not been great (Duke is shooting 53.1% from the field so far), but credit to Duke for hitting some tough shots when necessary. The bigger issue is that Duke has seven more shot attempts than the Bruins, in large part because they are doing a great job of taking care of the ball compared to UCLA. UCLA’s guards had a nightmare first half as far as protecting the ball, and that has to get better in a hurry.
Third Quarter
The first play out of halftime was a good example of off-ball movement, with Gabriela Jaquez throwing the interior pass to Betts, then cutting to the basket for an easy layup. She follows that up with a three-pointer to cut into the lead.
UCLA is definitely playing with more urgency this half, but Duke is still doing a great job of attacking every loose ball. Critically, the Bruin just drew a third foul on Fournier, so they need to do some damage now.
That’s the third shot-clock violation that you can directly point at Rice for not recognizing the time on the clock. She has not had a good game thus far.
For the first time in this game, Kneepkens got set on her three-point attempt, and she buried it to give UCLA the lead. The key so far? After a half where the Bruins had 12 turnovers, they have only had two so far.
Fournier back in, these are crucial minutes for both sides. If I’m UCLA, I am attacking her relentlessly to try and get that 4th foul on her.
UCLA has hit a few outside shots, which have finally opened things up on the interior. The Bruins are still failing to do a lot of movement to generate open looks, but they’re hitting the open looks they are getting, which is huge, especially as Duke has gone cold from the midrange.
End of 3Q thoughts: I don’t know if that was the best quarter UCLA has played in the NCAA Tournament (that first quarter against Oklahoma State still stands out in that regard), but it was definitely the most important thus far. With their backs against the wall, UCLA finally showed the kind of urgency that is necessary to win games at this point in the tournament, which is allowing their talent to shine. In particular, the Bruins have cut down on the turnovers, which is letting UCLA set its defense more often.
Fourth Quarter
UCLA, with a lead late, is always a problem for opponents because they have too many ways to beat an aggressive opponent. Case in point, UCLA has had multiple offensive rebounds leading to easy second-chance points to start because Duke is trying to sell out on the initial shot. The game is not close to over, but this is exactly where the Bruins want to be in the 4th quarter.
Lauren Betts absolutely got away with a foul on that held ball, and then Duke gets called for a cheap foul against her on the ensuing possession. I think the officiating has been fine for the most part, but I’d say it is definitely benefiting the Bruins late.
Angela Dugalic has bailed UCLA out so often in this game, and she does so again with a late shot clock (after, as has been the case, Kiki Rice dribbled out the clock for no real reason). UCLA’s top six is one of the strongest in the country, in large part because Dugalic would be a starter on the vast majority of teams in the nation, and she’s showing why again.
UCLA’s offense trying to kill time has been an adventure here, especially given all the turnovers. Of course, when in doubt, get the ball to Betts, as Charlisse Leger-Walker throws one hell of an inbound pass to Betts deep in the paint for the easy layup that should put this game to bed with a minute left.
Final thoughts: I thought UCLA’s talent was going to be too much for Duke to overcome, and that eventually proved to be true, but the Blue Devils gave UCLA everything it could handle and then some. I’m not sure what this means going forward, as we’ve said a few times that UCLA should learn to come out firing each game, but the margin for error is officially gone. A potential matchup with Texas looms on Friday, and the Longhorns are not going to be afraid of UCLA.
UCLA will play the winner of Texas and Michigan on Friday.
Go Bruins!
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