| Women’s Basketball |
|---|
| Iowa — 45 |
| UCLA — 96 |
Perfection is an elusive term in sports, a trait only seriously coveted by the most elite competitors and still rarely achieved.
But when describing how UCLA women’s basketball (31-1, Big Ten) has dominated the Big Ten this season, after finishing 18-0 in conference play, running the table in the conference tournament and staging a 51 point blowout in the championship game, no other word does the job quite as well.
No. 1-seeded UCLA women’s basketball won its second consecutive Big Ten tournament in a 96-45 stomping of No. 2 seed Iowa (26-6, Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Bruins have stamped their mark on the Midwest by winning the conference championship in their first two years of participation, setting them up as a top seed for the Big Dance once again.
Since their only hiccup of the season, a November loss to newly crowned SEC champions No. 4 Texas, the Bruins have ripped a program record 25 straight wins, with all but two games won by double digits.
That momentum carried over to Sunday as UCLA dominated in every facet, including the largest margin of victory ever in a Big Ten Championship game, a tournament-record 34 team assists and otherworldly efficiency of 64% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
Senior point guard Kiki Rice was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, capping a weekend of excellence with 15 points, eight assists and three steals. However, what senior center Lauren Betts commends Rice for isn’t her stats, but her quality as a teammate: “What I love most is that she’s one of the most selfless people I’ve ever played with. She really could care less about all the attention, she just wants to win games.”
The Big Ten player of the year had a relatively muted day, and faced a brief injury scare early in the first quarter before chipping in ten points and being one of four Bruins with three steals.
Lauren Betts benefited from an all-around offensive output from her teammates, as six Bruins scored in double figures, led by graduate shooting guard Gianna Kneepkens dropping a game-high 19 points while drilling four threes.
Freshman forward Sienna Betts stood out after nailing her first four shots, having her way in the post and draining classy mid-range jumpers before her final tally of 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and 7/8 shooting off the bench.
On her sister’s career performance, Lauren Betts quoted head coach, Cori Close, and said, “This is Sienna’s world, and we’re just living in it.” Lauren Betts added, “She continues to stay confident and ask for the ball… her attitude has just been so amazing and I’m just so happy for her.”
After granting Iowa the first three points of the game, UCLA shut down the No. 2-seed Hawkeyes by unleashing a 13-0 run, encapsulating a first quarter where the Bruins forced seven turnovers and created a 22-5 advantage. The gap only widened up until the final buzzer.
Despite questions on if her Bruins deserve the No. 1 ranking in the country heading into March Madness, Close emphasized her team’s focus on themselves: “When you focus on things out of your control it will adversely affect the things under your control… I think our focus needs to be on the how. How do we play our best basketball in March? How do we learn from the previous year? How do we continue to fight to get one possession better every single day?”
With the regular season and conference play complete, and a No. 1 seeding essentially guaranteed, UCLA will wait for the Women’s NCAA Tournament bracket reveal on Selection Sunday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m. PST.
