This post was updated Nov. 11 at 11:54 p.m.
The first ranked contest of the season presented a test for the Bruins.
A loss – even to a top-10 team – would reverse the dominant tone for the season the squad had established with its first two victories.
But an efficient second half quelled any glimmer of an upset over No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (3-0), who beat No. 6 Oklahoma (1-1) 73-59 on Monday night at Golden 1 center in Sacramento. Senior guards Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice, alongside graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens, posted double-digits for the second straight match en route to the Bruin victory.
Jaquez – who followed up a double-double in the season-opener with a 21-point outing last Thursday – led the Bruins in scoring to open the game. And after the scoreboard reached a deadlock five times in the first quarter, Kneepkens took the baton from her teammate to push UCLA ahead, finishing with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and sending the squad into halftime leading 41-36.
While the Duluth, Minnesota, local, who boasted a 44.8% clip from the 3-point line at Utah her redshirt junior year, is generally known for her shooting prowess from the perimeter – a category she ranked in the top-10 nationally last season – her aptitude in the paint was on display Monday night on multiple drives to the basket, earning her a 57.1% clip from the field.
Senior center Lauren Betts – who usually commands the Bruins in the paint – was double-teamed most of the night and came toe-to-toe against 6-foot-4 center Raegan Beers. Betts found multiple mid-range jumpers to combat the defense from the opposing post and Colorado local to record nine points while notching 11 rebounds.
The Sooners opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run in just 38 seconds, putting themselves within one point of the Bruins.
Oklahoma has recorded seven double-digit comebacks against ranked teams under coach Jennie Baranczyk’s tenure.
And just when it looked like the Bruins – who led by 10 points at one point in the first half – might be opening the door for the Sooners to mount a similar comeback, an 11-1 run at the end of the third quarter squandered the Sooners’ hope for a lead change in the second half.
Graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker got in on the action, sinking a 3-pointer followed by a fade-away jumper to help pave the way for UCLA’s 11-point run.
But it was graduate student forward Angela Dugalić who gave UCLA the buffer to hold on to a comfortable lead to end the night. Dugalić went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc to record 16 points, the second-highest on the squad.
UCLA’s defense – fueled by four blocks from Betts and a season-high 43 defensive rebounds as a team – held Oklahoma to just a 30.7% clip from the field.
Early foul trouble for Sooner guard Aaliyah Chavez – the No. 1 recruit from the 2025 class – and Beers benched the pair for extended stretches in the first half. Despite logging more minutes in the second frame, Chavez recorded 11 points while Beers went just 2-for-7 from the field – a far cry from her 29 points off a 76.5% clip from the field in Oklahoma’s opener.
The Bruins and the Sooners faced off at Golden 1 Center, the venue that will host the 2026 Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. UCLA and Oklahoma made appearances in the Sweet 16 and the Final Four, respectively, in last season’s NCAA tournament, before both teams were eliminated by eventual national champion UConn.
And after a double-digit victory over a top-10 opponent, the Bruins may already be making their case for postseason prowess.
