A 23-point deficit in the third quarter had seemingly written the Bruins off.
But coach Cori Close’s squad – who averaged 82.8 points to its opponent’s 53.3 entering Wednesday’s matchup – did not give up so easily.
Despite closing the gap to four points, No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (6-1) went on a scoring drought across the last 4:31, falling 76-65 to No. 4 Texas (6-0) at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The contest marked the first game of the Player’s Era Championship tournament – which will conclude on Thanksgiving – and the Bruins’ first loss of the season.
The Bruins missed early, shooting 5-14 from the field and failing to hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter. Shooting woes defined the majority of the game for Close’s squad, who closed the matchup with a collective 47.1% clip from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc.
The Longhorns ran with the opening momentum to double their 10-point lead to 45-25 entering halftime.
Forward Madison Booker logged 13 points across the first two frames while guards Rori Harmon and Jordan Lee contributed 10 each. While Booker’s offensive efficiency stagnated across the rest of the game, Harmon improved to 26 points by the end of the contest, going 9-for-15 from the field and 2-for-2 from the perimeter.
And Lee – who knocked down half of her team’s six 3-pointers – proved a playmaker on both sides of the ball for Texas with four blocks.
Turnovers limited the Bruins’ offense throughout the game. An aggressive Longhorn defense forced their opponent to give the ball away 20 times while conceding only 10 turnovers of their own.
Texas successfully crashed the glass as well, capitalizing off second-chance opportunities. Although it has out-rebounded all of its previous opponents this season, UCLA posted just 30 boards to Texas’ 32 – a significant decrease from its average of 47.
Apart from a 2-0 lead to open the game, UCLA trailed Texas for the entirety of the contest. Not a single Bruin achieved double-figure shooting by halftime, and senior center Lauren Betts struggled to generate momentum in the paint – the domain she usually dominates with a 61.7% clip from the field on the season.
Amid the team’s offensive struggles to open the game, graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker proved one of the only consistent presences on the court, recording a team-high nine points in the first half, shooting 66.7% from the field and 100% beyond the arc.
Fellow graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens took over for her teammate to lead UCLA’s offensive momentum in the third quarter, recording a perfect shooting performance and notching a pair of steals and a block.
Fueled by Kneepkens, the Bruins sat on the edge of cutting a 23-point deficit to less than 15 as the third quarter drew to a close.
And it was the UCLA defense that delivered, forcing a three second violation and giving the team a final chance to close the third quarter with a basket. A layup from Betts – who logged only eight points Wednesday afternoon – did the job.
UCLA entered the final frame with newfound momentum, closing the third quarter trailing by only 15 points – its smallest deficit of the half.
Senior guard Kiki Rice’s five points from the free throw line – which the Bruins reached zero times in the first half – and three baskets from the field helped pull the lead within 10 points, with less than eight minutes left in the last frame.
However, 68-64 was the closest UCLA was able to get to Texas. The Bruins were not able to capitalize off the possession time they gained from fouling, and the Longhorns racked up eight free throws to finish off their opponent.
UCLA will play the loser of No. 2 South Carolina versus Duke tomorrow.
