Protect our home court.
That was the UCLA women’s basketball team’s New Year’s resolution, and in the Bruins’ first performance of 2026, they did that in convincing fashion, dominating crosstown rival USC 80-46 Saturday in front of 11,241 fans at Pauley Pavilion.
The latest edition of the “Battle of L.A.” was all blue and gold as UCLA, playing in Westwood for the first time since a 106-44 blowout of Long Beach State on Dec. 20, took command with a 14-0 run midway through the second quarter to notch its eighth straight victory since its only loss to No. 2 Texas in late November.
“Thank you to the crowd for showing up on a rainy day — we appreciate the support,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We didn’t play our best, but we did a great job on the boards. We held them to 27% shooting. Our defense was better than our offense today. Offense cannot be where we find our identity. Defense and rebounding was our anchor tonight. I’d like to see more consistency and to keep getting closer to our standard.”
UCLA guard Kiki Rice shoots over USC guard Malia Samuels during the second half of the Bruins’ win Saturday night.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The score was tied 16-16 after the first 10 minutes, but then the Bruins began to assert themselves in the paint. A layup by Angela Dugalic put UCLA up 20-18 with 8:20 left in the second quarter and it never looked back.
Lauren Betts led the fourth-ranked Bruins (14-1 overall, 4-0 in Big Ten) with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. After a one-handed stuff on the defensive end, the 6-foot-7 center dished to Gianna Kneepkens for a wide open three-pointer, then sank a pair of free throws to put UCLA up by double digits for the first time two minutes before halftime. Kiki Rice’s driving layup at the buzzer grew the lead to 15 at halftime, 43-28.
Kneepkens scored 15 points, Rice contributed 14 points and eight assists and Gabriela Jaquez added 12 points. The Bruins had 24 assists, won the battle on the boards 46-26 and outscored the Trojans 42-10 in the paint.
UCLA center Lauren Betts looks to pass to forward Angela Dugalic over USC guard Kennedy Smith during the second half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“This is the hardest-working team I’ve ever been around, I’ve got to kick them out of the gym,” Close added. “There’s a difference between hard work and competing. Now I want them all to transfer that hard work into competitive awareness.”
Kara Dunn scored 11 points to lead 17th-ranked USC (10-4, 2-1).
“Someone told me before the game our programs were 54-54 in the all-time matchup, so this was the rubber match,” said Close, who is 8-4 versus the Trojans since Lindsay Gottlieb took over as USC in 2021. “One thing we share is that we want to grow the game together in L.A. I’m proud to partner with Lindsay in that.”
It marked UCLA’s fifth win this season over a ranked opponent. The Bruins take on their seventh in their next game Jan. 11 at No. 20 Nebraska.
“When we lost to them here last year it was a tough and we didn’t want to feel that again,” Rice said. “This is a new year, a new opportunity and for me it wasn’t about scoring, it was about finding my teammates. This is a balanced team, a lot of players can score, so we wanted to crash the boards and limit their possessions.”
A priority on defense was containing freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, who entered Saturday averaging a team-best 16.8 points per game. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting. UCLA no doubt took pride in holding senior guard Londynn Jones, who transferred from UCLA to USC over the summer, to six points on one-for-nine shooting.
“I’m only not rooting for Londynn a couple of times a year,” Close said. “Other than that I’m always in her corner.”
USC guard Jazzy Davidson, right, tries to keep the ball away from UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens during the first half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA stretched the lead to 25 points by the end of the third quarter.
“It was primarily about maintaining space offensively and I thought our guards did a great job creating for me … especially in transition,” said Betts, who passed 1,500 career points in the Bruins’ 97-61 rout of Penn State on New Year’s Eve. “Sure, reaching that milestone is cool, but it’s a just a number.”
USC made six of its first nine three-pointers but went cold after that.
USC guard Londynn Jones, right, tries to drive past UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez during the first half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“We decided we’re not going to let them shoot any more threes,” Betts said. “That was keeping them in the game. I was helping on ball screens but it was a team effort.”
Asked what legendary coach John Wooden would have thought of this UCLA squad, Close said: “He always valued the teamwork aspect. I’d like to think he would’ve enjoyed watching us and his family members tell me ‘Papa would’ve liked this team’ and I take that to heart.”
UCLA players celebrate on the bench during their 80-46 win over USC at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)