Gabriela Jaquez traveled to Indianapolis as the Bruins’ third leading scorer and their fifth-best 3-point shooter.
But on a night where UCLA only converted 44% of its shots – including 19% of its 3-pointers – the junior guard contributed a season-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting and three 3-point conversions – half of the Bruins’ total.
No. 2 seed UCLA women’s basketball (28-2, 16-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 10 seed Nebraska (21-11, 10-8) by a score of 85-74 after entering the Big Ten tournament in the quarterfinal round following a two-round bye. The Cornhuskers, who upset the No. 7 seed Fighting Illini on Thursday night at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis snuck up to the Bruins with only a two-point deficit at halftime, but were unable to overcome UCLA.
UCLA’s offense got off to a hot start to begin the tournament, racking up 27 first quarter points – the most it has scored in a single quarter since Feb. 20 against Illinois at home.
“For me, the main thing is to play confidently,” Jaquez said. “Coach Cori (coach Cori Close) has just been feeding us confidence and telling us to remind ourselves of what we have earned and the type of players we are. Confidence is a big thing in March.”
Jaquez led the way for the Bruin offense in the first quarter, as the junior guard contributed 10 points to the team’s 27-17 lead on 4-for-5 shooting – including 2-for-3 from deep.
Nebraska didn’t let UCLA’s double-digit lead last for long once the second quarter began. The Cornhuskers kicked off the frame with a minute and a half-long 7-0 run to reduce the Bruins’ lead to the three.
UCLA’s offense seemed to lose some of its first quarter magic in the second period, as it was only able to convert 3-for-13 shots from the field, though it made 8-for-9 free throws.
While the Bruin scorers lacked their spark, the Cornhuskers built off their early-quarter run to eventually take their first lead of the game with 1:10 remaining in the second quarter after converting their third 3-pointer of the quarter.
While one of Nebraska’s strengths in the regular season was 3-point shooting, the skill was one of UCLA’s weaknesses. While the Cornhuskers were second in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage with a 37.2% conversion rate during the regular season, the Bruins were 13th after making only 32.2% of their attempts – despite being home to juniors guard Londynn Jones and forward Timea Gardiner, the first and seventh best 3-point shooters in the Pac-12 last season, respectively.
However, the Bruins recovered from the deficit quickly, with a layup by junior center Lauren Betts to give them a two-point lead entering the half. Betts amassed 13 points and six boards in the first half while converting 5-for-6 of her attempts from the field. Betts wound up scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking seven shots – her 17th double-double of the season.
“I learned a lot from the last game,” Betts said. “I just wanted to kind of earn some of that trust back from my teammates and my coaches. … I’m just proud of my communication and my leadership, and that’s all I really wanted to focus on today.”
Jaquez and Betts combined for 9-for-11 shooting in the first half while their teammates only converted 4-for-18 shots from the field, including 1-for-11 from 3-point range while Jaquez converted two shots from beyond the arc.
UCLA’s 3-point woes continued in the third quarter as it shot 1-for-12 from beyond the arc. However, the Bruins won both the turnover battle and outrebounded the Cornhuskers, allowing them to grow their lead to seven by the end of the quarter.
“The ones that were wide open and we didn’t hit? OK, we didn’t hit them” Close said. “But the ones off the bounce, early in the shot clock? That’s not what we want to do.”
After appearing to lose its offensive rhythm following the first quarter, UCLA shot 56% from the field in the fourth quarter to further separate from its adversaries.
UCLA will take on either No. 3 seed Ohio State or No. 11 seed Iowa on Saturday for its semifinal contest.
“We always say that the tougher and more together team wins,” Close said. “We needed to earn some toughness, especially in response to how we finished the regular season. And so this was about being connected. This was about response.”
