The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Washington 82-67, extending its win streak to 20 games, clinching the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament and earning at least a share of the league title Thursday night.
“It shows how hard we are working throughout the season, and we’re just going to have to continue to try to get better,” Bruins center Lauren Betts said. “Obviously it’s great, but we have bigger things that we’re looking forward to, so we’re just going to continue to keep our heads down.”
It is the Bruins’ first conference championship since the 1998-99 season, when they tied for first in the Pac-10.
“To have a couple of alumni that were on that team here today, that’s really special, and I really want to compliment these guys for always having a sense of humility,” coach Cori Close said. “We walk on the shoulders of the people that came before us, and we’re just really thankful to be in the position we’re in, and in the No. 1 net conference in the country for women’s basketball.”
From left. UCLA’s Angela Dugalic, Sienna Betts and Gabriela Jaquez swarm Washington guard Hannah Stines at Pauley Pavilion on Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Betts scored a game-high 23 points and was one of five Bruins to finish with double-digit scoring, while Washington freshman Brynn McGaughy recorded the second-highest total of her career with 19. Avery Howell scored 17 points and led the Huskies with seven rebounds.
With the exception of Gianna Kneepkens, who was three for four from three-point range and scored 17 points, UCLA (26-1, 16-0 Big Ten) struggled from beyond the arc against the Huskies, shooting 26.7% — below its season average of 38.2%.
The Bruins nearly doubled up the Huskies on rebounds, 37 to 20, and had 24 assists, with eight coming from Charlisse Leger-Walker, including for 10 of Kneepkens’ points.
“Any shooter or person in the country wants to play with someone like Charlisse,” Kneepkens said. “I like watching her play, just because of how consistent she is and how she finds people, even in the smallest spaces.”
Washington (19-8, 9-7) had four players who scored six points during the first half, while UCLA’s Betts led the way with 14 points and Angela Dugalic added eight.
The Bruins led the Huskies 22-12 after the first quarter and extended that lead to 42-29 by halftime, leading by as many as 19 midway through the second quarter.
McGaughy went on a run in the third quarter, scoring 10 points in a row en route to the Huskies’ highest-scoring quarter of the game to that point (19). But the Bruins still won the quarter, adding two points to their lead.
UCLA center Lauren Betts drives to the basket under pressure from Washington center Yulia Grabovskaia at Pauley Pavilion on Thursday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“I’ve been watching a lot of film on Washington, and they played really hard and really well today,” Close said. “I thought they played the best basketball they’ve played in the Big Ten for a while today, and give them all the credit for that.”
UCLA has two regular-season games remaining, playing its home finale against Wisconsin on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and against rival USC on March 1.
The Bruins will honor six graduating players before facing the Badgers. After the win over Washington, Betts asked fans to attend senior day on Sunday.
“It has been really fun to be a part of their process and coach them in the day to day,” Close said. “I told them that in the locker room, like, I don’t want to miss a moment, you guys. I don’t want to miss any point of growth. I don’t want to miss a moment of celebrating. I don’t want to miss a moment of opportunity to get better.”