This post was updated Jan. 23 at 10:02 p.m.
A game-high 25 points for junior center Lauren Betts led to a decisive victory to continue the Bruins’ record-breaking undefeated streak.
After its first New Jersey win in the Coretta Scott King Classic against Baylor, No. 1 UCLA women’s basketball (19-0, 7-0 Big Ten) continued its Northeast appearance with another etch into its perfect record – defeating Rutgers (8-12, 0-8) by a 84-66 score.
Early in the matchup, a series of turnovers and missed shots limited the Bruins to a narrow five-point lead heading into the second quarter. However, after a rebound from Betts found its way into the hands of junior guard Londynn Jones, the Bruins began to find their rhythm.
“We work on those 45 cuts-and-gets from the guards everyday,” Betts said. “I don’t feel like I have to force any of my shots. I just flow throughout the game, and [Londynn] – especially today – she did a really good job of finding gaps and windows and made my job a lot easier.”
Another assist by Betts gave junior guard Kiki Rice a chance to cap off a dominant offensive run with eight points and three rebounds. With Betts leading the charge and contributing 12 points in the first half, Jones was a close second with nine points.
Betts scored eight points during a nine point run early in the second quarter, fielding the stretch that extended the Bruins lead into the half.
After earning a program record of nine blocks against Baylor and 21 blocks over the last three games for the Bruins, the 6-foot-7 center contributed five blocks throughout the match,
“[Lauren] is a versatile center,” said Coach Cori Close. “The list of impacts on the game that she makes are endless, and that’s when you know you have a really elite player. Then you combo it with a really elite guard – that’s pretty tough to stop, and that’s why our record is the way it is.”
By the second quarter, the Bruins surged forward to add 27 points to their first quarter lead, holding the Knights to 29 points throughout the entire first half. A 3-pointer from graduate student forward Angela Dugalić pushed the Bruins to 57-40.
The third quarter saw the Bruins rotate fresh legs with freshmans forward Kendall Dudley and guard Elina Aarnisalo starting the second half. While contributing four and two points, respectively, Dudley shot a perfect 2-for-2 from the field.
Despite Rutgers’ best efforts, including a late layup from guard Destiny Adams to narrow the gap to 45-29, UCLA responded with a jumper from Jones and a layup by Betts to continue its game-long lead.
The closing moments of the match saw Betts setting the tone with a layup to give UCLA a substantial lead of 70-48. Aarnisalo, who saw action in the third quarter, hopped back into the match alongside Rice for a two-guard lineup. With Rice contributing at the free throw line with eight minutes left in the match, the Bruins pushed the score even further.
“It definitely has been a really hard trip,” Rice said. “We’re continuing to figure out how to handle these longer road trips, and I think we are doing a good job of handling a mix of down time and rest. ”
As the game entered its final stretch, UCLA maintained its lead, with Betts continuing the charge. After drawing a foul and sinking a free throw, Betts followed up with a layup to extend UCLA’s lead to 77-54, reaching her game-high 25 points.
“This whole first Big Ten year is about listen, observe, adjust, over and over again,” Close said. “We chose this, and we want to be apart of the best conference.”
UCLA will conclude its Northeast conference run with a match against Maryland Sunday.
