| Women’s Basketball |
|---|
| Duke — 58 |
| UCLA — 70 |
Final. Four. Bound.
In back to back years. For the second time in program history.
But for a UCLA squad accustomed to running teams off the floor and sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat, the Duke Blue Devils gave them a run for their money.
A sloppy, turnover-filled first half left the Big Ten champs trailing at halftime for only the second time this season, requiring a comeback in the last 20 minutes to avoid a shocking upset.
At the end of the day, the UCLA Bruins cut down the nets as regional champions, and lie two wins away from a first ever NCAA title.
No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball (35-1, 18-0 Big Ten) squashed the hopes of No. 3 seed Duke (27-9, 16-2 ACC) in the Elite 8, prevailing by a score of 70-58 Sunday afternoon in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.
In the first matchup between these two teams on Nov. 27, UCLA won the first quarter 30-7 en route to an 89-59 blowout.
Sunday told a completely different story, as the ACC champion Blue Devils led 21-17 after the first period and 39-31 at halftime. The Bruins hadn’t trailed at halftime since their only loss of the season against Texas on Nov. 27.
“They (Duke) really came out and were the aggressors in the first half.” said head coach Cori Close on the Blue Devils’ improvement. “What they did from the beginning of the year to what they became at the end of the year needs to be commended.”
12 first half turnovers by UCLA in the first half exhibited an unusual carelessness from the Sacramento region’s top seed, allowing Duke to cash in on 16 points off turnovers in the first half. Three of those turnovers were shot clock violations, a testament to the aggressive Blue Devil defense considering the Bruins entered the game with only six shot clock violations all year.
Point guard Taina Mair led the charge for the Blue Devils, taking advantage of UCLA’s drop coverage with her automatic mid-range jumper. Mair poured in 12 points on 5-6 shooting in the first half before finishing with a team-high 21 points.
But make no mistake, the Bruins don’t slouch when it comes to starpower.
Senior center and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Lauren Betts paced her team with 23 points and 10 rebounds on 9-14 shooting, owning the paint and turning high entry passes into steady points.
Also the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Betts’ game-high five blocks deterred Duke from attacking around the rim, an area where UCLA dominated with 54 of its 70 points in the paint compared to Duke’s 32.
After staring at a first half deficit as large as 10, the Bruins staged a second half surge to outscore Duke 39-19. Graduate guard Gianna Kneepkens drained a top of the key three amidst a 20-8 third quarter run, igniting the crowd and giving the Bruins a 47-45 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I don’t think we ever get too high or too low, we just remain steady throughout the entire game,” said Betts. “I’m just so proud of the way that we’re able to stay calm and still hold each other accountable while also just competing at the highest level.”
The unsung hero of the day was graduate forward and Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Angela Dugalić, who converted broken, late clock plays into huge buckets, including an and-1 putback layup that completely established UCLA’s momentum to start the final quarter.
Dugalić, who transitioned to the bench this season after starting for most of her career, finished as the Bruins’ second leading scorer, chipping in 15 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench.
On Dugalić’s impact today, Close said, “She just had an aggression about her, from a rebounding standpoint, from how she was posting up with contact, her poise on the catch, the way she was switching out on the guards, there was an aggression about her that was just special.”
After hitting the game-winning, buzzer beater three to defeat No. 2 seed LSU in the Sweet 16, Duke guard Ashlon Jackson was primed for a big game as the Blue Devils’ second leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game.
She was smothered by UCLA’s defense to zero points and missed all eight of her shots.
Both teams struggled mightily from beyond the arc, finishing a combined 3-27 from three point land. It took until the third quarter for senior guard Gabriela Jaquez to knock down the first triple of the game.
“We just have the mentality of this being a business trip,” added Dugalić. “Tomorrow is gonna be a new day, and we’re gonna have a new opponent, and that’s gonna be our next focus.”
Now back in the Final Four, the same stage in which they were eliminated by UConn in last year’s tournament, the Bruins have one last chance to take the program’s six seniors to uncharted territory. UCLA will play the winner of Monday’s bout between No. 1 seed Texas and No. 2 seed Michigan for a spot in the national championship on Friday, April 3 in Phoenix.
