This post was updated Feb. 5 at 9:49 p.m.
In its first game of the season, UCLA defeated Louisville by seven points in Paris.
The seven-point margin has proven to be the narrowest of the season, as the Bruins have emerged victorious in each of their subsequent contests by more than 10 points.
Despite a tied game in the fourth, No. 1 UCLA women’s basketball (22-0, 10-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 8 Ohio State (20-2, 9-2) 65-52 at Pauley Pavilion, adding another victory of more than 10 to its streak. The Bruins and Buckeyes both accumulated their lowest point totals of the season, with the visitors shooting only 29% from the field and the Bruins turning the ball over 23 times.
“Ohio State is a really good defensive team,” said junior guard Gabriela Jaquez. “In the first half we were playing their game, and they won the style of play. Coming out in the second half, we just really needed a reset.”
The Bruins fell behind 13-6 midway through the first quarter, their largest deficit of the season. The Buckeyes capitalized on fast break opportunities to begin the game, scoring eight points while the Bruins turned the ball over five times.
“I think we were frustrated with our turnovers,” said coach Cori Close. “We let it affect our purpose and talk in transition defense.”
The Ohio State offense proceeded to fall silent as UCLA charged back into the game, with a 12-3 run to end the quarter spearheaded by three 3-point shots.
The Buckeyes’ scoring struggles continued into the second quarter with an aggregate scoring drought of over six minutes between the two quarters. Graduate student forward Angela Dugalić recorded two blocks during the stretch, and junior guard Kiki Rice added two steals.
Despite sinking only one 3-point shot, Dugalić came away with 10 rebounds, the second-highest of the team behind junior center Lauren Betts.
UCLA extended its lead in the second quarter on the back of Betts, who scored 10 of the Bruins’ 12 points in the period. Betts also accumulated 10 rebounds in the first half, giving her a first-half double-double.
Turnover problems plagued the UCLA offense throughout the entirety of the first half, as it turned the ball over 14 times within the half, nearly reaching its season average of 15 per game.
“It would be helpful if we passed to the people in the white jerseys,” Close said at halftime.
The Bruins donned their throwback all-white jerseys for the first time this season during the game.
Ohio State attempted 11 more shots than UCLA in the contest even though it was out-rebounded 49-33, helping to keep itself close despite shooting 16% worse than its opponents.
Betts continued her tear in the third quarter, adding four more points to put her at 17 – half of the Bruins’ 34 points at the time. At that point, the rest of the team was only shooting 22% from the field, with Rice standing as the second-leading scorer with six points.
Ohio State tied the game up 44-44 within the first minute of the fourth quarter after UCLA’s 19th turnover.
Rice immediately responded with four points of her own, with two free throws and a layup extending the lead back to four.
With the lead in hand, the Bruins continued to extend it throughout the final quarter, going on a 19-1 run spurred by Rice’s shots.
“That poise is what we work on every single day,” Betts said. “But I was really proud of everyone and how we handled it, and I thought our communication was really good.”
Jaquez pulled the Bruins through the final frame, scoring 11 of the team’s 21 points. With her 17 total points, she ranked second on the team in scoring and was the third Bruin to hit double-digit scoring, alongside Betts – the team’s leading scorer – and Rice.
UCLA will go back on the road to take on Oregon before returning to Los Angeles to face No. 7 USC at the Galen Center next week.
“I told the team after the game that these games are fun when they’re close,” Jaquez said. “This might have been one of the first games where it got close. But these games are fun. These games prepare us for March.”
