This post was updated Nov. 12 at 5:14 p.m.
Last season, Gabriela Jaquez was placed in her brother’s shadow.
However, since the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year entered the NBA, the younger sibling has cemented herself as the new Jaquez in town.
The sophomore forward’s 30-point performance Sunday afternoon allowed the Jaquez name to echo from Pauley Pavilion’s speakers many more times.
“You’re just seeing a manifestation of a lot of work done,” said coach Cori Close.
With a career-high double-double from Jaquez, No. 4 UCLA women’s basketball (3-0) conquered Bellarmine (0-2) with a 113-64 statement, scoring over 100 points for the first time in two years. Jaquez filled in to start in this weekend’s contests while senior forwards Angela Dugalić and Emily Bessoir were abroad competing in the 2025 EuroBasket Qualifiers.
Close said she wasn’t surprised by Jaquez’s execution.
“The work done in the dark always gets revealed in the light, and she worked her butt off in the dark all summer long,” Close said. “But she did it, so that’s what you’re seeing is that she spent hours and hours in the gym.”
The Bruins squandered no time offensively, as the starting group created an immediate 13-0 run to force a Knights timeout.
The early spurt trailed off midway through the quarter, however, leading to UCLA’s first substitutions of the game. Close brought in sophomore forward Christeen Iwuala for the first time this season.
Offensive momentum led to a 26-9 decision in the first quarter alone, with fifth-year guard Charisma Osborne spearheading the Bruins’ efforts with 11 points.
During the contest, Osborne moved up another spot on the all-time scoring ranks – this time to No. 7 with 1,846 total career points. Osborne said while her main focus is on the four quarters she is playing, it’s an honor to cement herself within the history of this program.
“It’s really cool because obviously, there’s a lot of great players that come from this program,” Osborne said.
The Knights began to find their stride in the second quarter, opening with an 11-4 run.
But Jaquez chose to respond.
A 3-pointer just over four minutes into the quarter triggered what would be a 14-point quarter for the sophomore. Two minutes after the initial triple, Jaquez added to her five-point total with three consecutive plays, propelling her total to 11.
Close said Jaquez’s phenomenal work ethic is what allows her to create performances like Sunday’s.
“It’s inspiring. I mean, she plays so hard all the time,” Close said. “And honestly, if our entire team competed and played as hard as Gabs, we’d be closer to our potential right now.”
Jaquez added to her sum with two made free throws and a 3-pointer to close the second frame – entering halftime just two points away from her career-high 18-point performance Thursday.
And in the third quarter, she would crush that record.
Jaquez increased her figures to 18 points and 10 rebounds five minutes into the half en route to her inaugural double-double. As the quarter progressed, the sophomore steered her total to 28, courtesy of four scoring drives.
She closed the curtains on her historic performance with 30 points – something the older Jaquez accomplished only once in his four-year career at UCLA.
In addition to Jaquez’s production, sophomore center Lauren Betts followed up her double-double showing Thursday with a career-high clip of 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Betts said in the absence of Dugalić and Bessoir this weekend, the team focused on stepping up within the paint.
“We’re missing two key parts of our offense,” Betts said. “So, we just needed to make sure that we’re gonna continue looking for each other.”
UCLA finished out the contest with 33- and 30-point scoring exhibitions in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. While limiting the Knights to 31 points in the second half and forfeiting the ball just seven times across the contest, the Bruins created their largest margin of victory of the season.
Despite the all-around showing, Close said there’s still much room to grow heading into week two of play.
“I want to see controlled aggression,” Close said. “I want to see pure accountability. I want to see passionate plays. I want us to take a step up in toughness. That’s the number one priority.”
