This post was updated Nov. 17 at 11:39 p.m.
Kiki Rice suited up for her first appearance of the season.
The junior guard found herself in unfamiliar territory, coming off the bench for just the second time in her collegiate career.
Despite Rice’s limited role, No. 5 UCLA women’s basketball beat Arkansas 101-52 on Sunday night in Pauley Pavilion. The game marked the Bruins’ fourth straight victory, and the same number of starts for freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo, who has filled Rice’s position at the one.
“We were given a minutes restriction, so I had made a calculated choice to try to use those in the first half to try to get some rotations and play some different combinations,” said coach Cori Close. “I don’t have any reason to think she won’t be ready to go for next week.”
Returning from a minor shoulder injury, Rice came into the game four minutes into the first half. She was quickly joined by Aarnisalo as the pair briefly played a two-guard rotation.
While Aarnisalo, the Helsinki, Finland, local, went without scoring in the first quarter, she garnered seven assists, many of which found junior forward Timea Gardiner, who put up five 3-pointers within the first quarter. The Oregon State transfer achieved career highs in both points and 3-point makes by game’s end.
“You have Elina, who had … 11 assists, dishing like crazy,” Gardiner said. “Everyone just really shared the ball tonight.”
The Bruins came out the gates firing, taking a 15-3 lead early into the first quarter. However, the Razorbacks narrowed the deficit to three with a 9-0 run of their own, holding the Bruins scoreless for nearly four minutes.
Freshman forward Kendall Dudley ended UCLA’s dry spell with an offensive rebound and putback layup, scoring her first points as a Bruin. The five-star recruit from Sidwell Friends finished the game with seven points and nine rebounds.
“She came in with an awareness of what’s happening and a purpose that very few freshmen play with,” Close said. “Understanding all the cuts and fills that we need off of double teams is not an easy thing to adjust to, and she did a great job tonight.”
By the time Aarnisalo joined Rice on the floor, UCLA had once again removed the lid from the basket – eventually finding itself with a 14-point lead heading into the second quarter.
And by the time the Bruins entered the locker room for halftime, they had pushed the score to 57-25 – the largest lead of the game to that point.
Gardiner led the Bruins in scoring at the halfway mark with 17 points – shooting 56% from beyond the arc. The Ogden, Utah, local averaged 37.8% in 3-point shooting during her two campaigns at Oregon State. By game’s end, Gardiner had 23 points and seven total 3-pointers.
By the end of the third quarter, the Bruins had more than doubled the score of their opponents – leading 87-38.
Junior center Lauren Betts grabbed 12 boards alongside 20 points. The performance marked Bett’s third double-double of the season through only four competitions.
“The thing I’m most happy about with Lauren is her steadiness through the adversity,” Close said. “I truly believe Lauren Betts will be a future Olympian and a top pick in the WNBA draft some day.”
Graduate student forward Angela Dugalić and junior forward Janiah Barker added double-doubles of their own to UCLA’s victory over Arkansas. Barker, a Texas A&M transfer, finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Dugalić did so with 18 and a game-high 15, respectively.
UCLA held Arkansas to 28.2% shooting for the game and only 17.9% shooting on 3-point attempts. The Razorbacks were led in scoring by guard Izzy Higginbottom, who had 15 points on 27.8% shooting.
“We have goals for each game,” Dugalić said. “We have to get 75% of our defensive misses, 40% of our offensive rebounds and our whole mindset is just secure as well. Force them to make a hard shot and then secure the ball.”
A second-chance layup by Barker broke the century mark with a minute left in the game. The Bruins finished their third home game of the season with a 49-point lead.
