This post was updated Feb. 19 at 10:41 p.m.
For the first time in history, the Big Ten regular season title belongs to the Bruins.No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball (26-1, 16-0 Big Ten) took down Washington (19-8, 9-7) 82-67 Thursday night in the squad’s second-to-last home game before tournament play. The victory guarantees the Bruins the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament. The team has a three-game lead and head-to-head win on No. 6 Michigan, who is second in conference rankings.
The Huskies held the lead for 24 seconds off an opening bucket from guard Avery Howell before the Bruins took over without looking back.
Senior center Lauren Betts started off the scoring for the Bruins and finished the first quarter with six points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field. UCLA was perfect from the charity swipe in the same frame, knocking down all six of its attempts.
“Every day in practice, we hold them accountable to 80% or better as a team,” Close said. “Nobody leaves the gym before they hit ten free throws in a row. It’s a big piece, especially the way that we play through the paint.”
The quarter came to a close when graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens downed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, bringing her scoring to five points on 1-for-2 shooting from deep and giving the Bruins a 22-12 lead entering the second stanza.
Betts scored six straight points to begin the second quarter before being replaced by her sister, freshman forward Sienna Betts. Sienna Betts and graduate student Angela Dugalić led the Bruins in rebounding, grabbing three boards a piece.
Despite 6-foot-5 center Yulia Grabovskaia attempting to hold strong in the paint, the Bruins dominated the Huskies down low. At one point, the Bruins outscored the Huskies’ total offense 18-17 with paint points alone.
Lauren Betts ended the half contributing 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Dugalić added in eight of her own, helping bring the bench points to 12. The Bruins entered halftime up 42-29.
UCLA started the third quarter with a quick six points before Washington called a timeout. The Huskies were looking for the answers from deep, with forward Brynn McGaughy connecting on two from beyond the arc. This led to her scoring to 16 points with 4:30 remaining in the frame before coach Cori Close called a timeout.
Kneepkens began heating up, hitting a shot from deep and back-to-back pull-up jumpers – but her efforts were quickly countered by Washington guard Sayvia Sellers’ third 3-pointer of the game. Kneepkens contributed two of the team’s eight total steals.
“I think that’s just something you control, being able to dive on the floor and try to get those extra possessions for your team,” Kneepkens said. “I just didn’t love how I was in the past games with it, so I just tried to focus on it a little bit more this game.”
The Bruins’ perfection from the free throw line continued with senior guards Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice knocking down two each, bringing the squad to 10-for-10 by the end of the quarter. The squad finished the game 14-for-16 from the charity stripe.
A full-court press by the Bruins helped contribute to Washington’s five third-quarter turnovers, and Close’s squad exited the frame with a 15-point advantage leading 63-48.
Sellers, Howell and McGaughy continued the efforts for the Huskies, knocking down five 3-pointers collectively in the fourth – bringing the squad within fifteen points of the Bruins.
But these efforts proved inconsequential.
UCLA and Washington tied 19-19 in the fourth, completing the former’s 82-67 victory.
Points in the paint highlighted the victory for the Bruins, as the team finished with 48 points in the paint – well above their opponent’s 24. Close’s squad also outrebounded their opponents, grabbing 37 boards in comparison to the Huskies’ 20.
“When I say guard play wins, I just think that [it] facilitates having points in the paint,” Close said. “It’s not that guard play has to go score; it’s that guard play has to facilitate us playing closest to our best version of our identity.”
UCLA saw five players reach double-digits, with Lauren Betts leading the scoring. The senior finished with 23 points and 8 rebounds on 11-for-15 shooting from the field, marking her eighth 20-point game of the season. Kneepkens added 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and went 3-for-4 from deep.
This game marks 20 straight victories since UCLA’s loss to No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 and continues the team’s undefeated conference record. A win over Wisconsin on Sunday will clinch the regular season title outright.
“I think it (having the conference title) just shows how hard we’ve been working throughout the season, and we’re just going to continue to try to get better,” Lauren Betts said. “I mean it’s great, but we have bigger things that we’re looking forward to, so we’re just going to continue to keep our head down and do the work.”
