With the postseason only three matches away, UCLA will face its last road opponents of its Big Ten debut season.
No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (25-1, 13-1 Big Ten) has the opportunity to end its season with a winning streak with matchups against Iowa (18-8, 8-7) on Sunday and Wisconsin (12-14, 3-12) on Wednesday. The two road matches mark the ending of the Bruins’ regular season stretch before it concludes it with a match against USC in March.
Coming off a 70-55 home victory over No. 25 Illinois, UCLA has the potential to add a few more marks in the win column before postseason play.
“We are not playing with the kind of fervor, passion, focus aggression that I’ve seen from our team,” said coach Cori Close following the match against the Fighting Illini. “I trust their hearts, I trust their work ethic, so we have to figure out what’s getting in the way and that will be imperative before we have to Iowa.”
UCLA will first turn its attention to Iowa, a matchup where junior center Lauren Betts will face an old high school teammate in Hawkeye and center Addison O’Grady for the first time in collegiate competition.
Betts, who leads the Bruins with 10 rebounds per game, will take on Iowa’s guard Sydney Affolter, who follows closely with eight rebounds per game. Betts’ return comes after missing the team’s matchup against No. 22 Michigan State due to a right foot injury.
Her presence was felt in the Bruins’ most recent win against Illinois, scoring 12 first-half points on 6-for-10 shooting while adding three blocks.
Junior guard Kiki Rice contributed 16 points, five rebounds and four assists to the win.
“I probably missed a few opportunities to be aggressive, but I’ll work on that,” Rice said. “It’s just about finding the best option for our team, and that’s my job as a point guard to really get everyone the ball and make our team get the best looks possible.”
On the perimeter, Rice will have her own challenge against Iowa’s Lucy Olsen, with Olsen averaging 5.1 assists per game compared to Rice’s 4.5.
Following its matchup against Iowa, UCLA will face Wisconsin for the first time in program history. Badger guard Ronnie Porter could prove a threat to Rice, averaging 5.2 assists.
“I think just creating catches for my teammates is something that I’ve always taken pride in,” Betts said. “ I think I do a really good job through our chemistry and just making sure that (Rice) finds me inside, and she does a really good job of that.”
In danger of missing the Big Ten tournament due to consecutive losses, the Badgers are relying on the last few games of the regular season to make their case. Wisconsin has lost its last few matches despite pair forward Serah Williams and center Carter Mccray combining for more than half of Wisconsin’s points in its loss against No. 22 Michigan State on Feb. 12.
In its next match up, Wisconsin managed to win 75-68 over Penn State.
With the Bruins are far from Pauley Pavilion, this weekend marks their first away match since early February and the squad’s last regular season away stint against the Ducks.
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