| Women’s Basketball |
|---|
| UCLA — 75 |
| USC — 50 |
Exactly one year ago, UCLA watched USC celebrate on its home floor.
Sunday afternoon, the Bruins returned the favor — this time, in enemy territory.
No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball (28-1, 18-0 in Big Ten) stormed into Galen Center and came out with a 73-50 win over USC (17-12, 9-9 in Big Ten), avenging last season’s 80-67 home loss.
From the opening minutes, UCLA looked intent on making a statement. A sold-out Galen Center (including women’s basketball legend and Trojan alumnus Cheryl Miller in attendance wearing a “BEAT UCLA” T-shirt) was buzzing, but the noise died down quickly. A hot 14-4 start midway through the first quarter forced a quick USC timeout at the five-minute mark.
The Bruins never looked back.
As it has been all season, the formula was relentless rebounding and interior dominance.
Senior center Lauren Betts struggled from the field, shooting merely 2-10, finishing with five points, but dominated the paint with 15 rebounds. UCLA finished the game with a 47-22 advantage on the glass, including a staggering 22 offensive rebounds to USC’s five. Extra possessions turned into more open looks.
Off an offensive rebound came a smooth give-and-go between senior guard Kiki Rice and Betts for an and-one opportunity. Rice finished the game with 11 points and four assists. Then the onslaught continued with the perimeter punches.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from graduate guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens stretched the lead to 31-17. Both Leger-Walker and Kneepkens broke the 2000-point mark for their NCAA careers this game.
By halftime, UCLA led 38-20. USC did not score in the final three minutes and four seconds of the second quarter.
The Trojans, who have played the entire season without star JuJu Watkins after an ACL tear, searched for rhythm but found none. Jazzy Davidson finished with 12 points, and Kennedy Smith added 11, yet USC shot just 39% from the field and 16% from beyond the arc, struggling to generate any resemblance of a good offense consistently.
USC did trim the margin to 46-33 midway through the third, but the Bruins answered immediately. Leger-Walker closed the quarter with a flourish. A jumper, a steal, and a kick-out three pushed the lead to 57-36 entering the fourth, and that’s all she wrote.
Three Bruin starters reached double figures: Leger-Walker with 20, Kneepkens with 14 and senior guard Gabriela Jaquez with 14.
UCLA became just the fourth Big Ten team ever to finish 18-0 in conference play. The Bruins have not lost since Nov. 21. Since their defeat to Texas, they have won 22 straight games by an average margin of 30 points and now sit at 28-1 overall, heading into March and both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments with confidence.
The Crosstown Rivalry all-time series now stands at 60-54 in UCLA’s favor.
Last year, the Trojans celebrated in Pauley Pavilion.
This year, UCLA made sure the final memory inside the Galen Center belonged to them.
