No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball (33-1, 18-0 Big Ten) faces No. 4 seed Minnesota (24-8, 13-5) on Friday in Sacramento in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA took down No.16 seed California Baptist 96-43 in the first round and No. 8-seeded Oklahoma State 87-68 in the second round to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Minnesota is coming off a 75-58 victory against No. 13-seeded Green Bay and a buzzer-beating 65-63 win over No. 5 Ole Miss.
The Bruins and the Golden Gophers faced off once before this season on Jan. 14 when the Bruins walked away with a 76-54 win. Here is a breakdown of the matchup.
Personnel:
Coach: Dawn Plitzuweit
Bigs/Forwards: Grace Grocholski, Sophie Hart
Guards: Tori McKinney, Mara Braun, Amaya Battle
Best Player: Tori McKinney
X-Factor: Amaya Battle
Stat Profile:
Points per game: 74.6
Field goal percentage: 45.1%
Points allowed per game: 58.1
Field goal percentage allowed: 38.8%
Frontcourt
The Golden Gophers’ frontcourt consists of 6-foot-5 center Sophie Hart and 5-foot-10 guard/forward Grace Grocholski. Although listed as a forward, Grocholski does lean more towards a guard style of play.
Grocholski is Minnesota’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She is the best shooter from deep on the squad, boasting a 42% clip from beyond the arc with 68 made attempts on the season.
With this said, the North Prairie, Wisconsin, local can be inefficient. In the first round of the tournament, Grocholski went 0-for-5 from the field in 38 minutes of play, finishing with zero points. She improved in the game against the Rebels, ending the victory with eight points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and knocking down two shots from deep.
Hart is one of the five Golden Gophers’ averaging double digits, scoring 11.1 points and grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game. She is shooting 55% from the field, the highest mark of the starters.
She also improved her consistency towards the end of the season, scoring in the double figures in the past nine games for Minnesota. Grocholski and Hart had nine and eight points, respectively, the last time they faced UCLA.
The Bruins’ frontcourt is headlined by Naismith Player of the Year Finalist and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist, 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts. Betts is UCLA’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 17.1 points and 8.7 rebounds a game.
The Big Ten Player of the Year is shooting a team-high 57.3% from the field, with this number dropping below 40% in a game only four times through the season. In addition to her efficiency masterclass on offense, Betts has 61 blocks this year, the highest mark on the Bruins.
Coming off the bench for UCLA is the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, graduate forward Angela Dugalić. Dugalić contributes 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, while shooting an efficient 34.6% from deep, making the 6-foot-4 player a difficult one to guard.
The last time the Bruins faced the Golden Gophers, Betts scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, while Dugalić added nine points to the Bruins’ 22-point lead. There are few players in the country that can shut down Betts, and while Hart is on the taller end of centers, she proved unsuccessful last time.
Backcourt
The Golden Gophers’ leading scorer is Tori McKinney, who averages 12.9 points per game on a 46.2% clip from the field. She did not take the court the last time these squads met due to concussion symptoms, but at 6-foot-1, she could prove to be a difficult matchup for coach Cori Close’s squad.
Two crucial pieces so far in this tournament for Minnesota have been Amaya Battle and Mara Braun.
Battle leads the squad in rebounds and assists, averaging 7.5 and 3.6 per game, respectively. In the first round of the tournament, she scored 21 points and had eight rebounds, but she proved even more important in the next game.
Against Ole Miss, she had 14 points and 11 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season. Her last basket was a mid-range shot from the corner with just 0.8 seconds on the clock, helping the squad secure the victory.
Braun is the Golden Gophers’ second-best 3-point shooter, with a 35.5% mark from deep. She averages 11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, but has surpassed her scoring in the first games of the tournament.
She scored 17 points against Green Bay and 16 points – the highest mark on the squad – against Ole Miss. Braun has heated up from deep, shooting 7-for-10 from beyond the arc in the past two games alone.
But the Bruins’ backcourt will test the Golden Gophers once more.
Graduates Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker, alongside seniors Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez showcase some of the best guard-play in the country.
All four guards shoot 37% or above from the 3-point line, with Kneepkens leading the pack with a 43.7% clip, Jaquez knocking down 3-pointers at a 40.2% rate, Rice shooting 37.6% from deep and Leger-Walker averaging a 37% clip from behind the arc.
The last time these squads faced, Rice recorded a season-high 25 points and Jaquez added in 12 points. Rice, Leger-Walker and Kneepkens combined for 13 assists as well.
Although the Golden Gophers have a strong backcourt, the Bruins have the ability to counter and defeat them once more.
Overall
These teams both saw success in the Big Ten season, but the Bruins’ victory margin of 28.6 compared to the Golden Gophers’ of 16.5 shows the domination Close’s squad holds.
UCLA shoots at a 51.3% clip from the field and a 37.5% clip from deep, and both these marks prove better than Minnesota’s of the same categories. The Golden Gophers’ shoot just 45.1% from the field and 35.3% from behind the arc.
With the second trip to the Elite Eight in as many years on the line for UCLA, the Westwood squad is looking to replicate the previous showing between these teams.
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