{"id":160234,"date":"2026-02-02T13:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/160234\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T13:05:19","slug":"no-2-ucla-women-dominate-no-8-iowa-for-15th-consecutive-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/160234\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 2 UCLA women dominate No. 8 Iowa for 15th consecutive win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Angela Dugalic<\/a> scored 22 points off the bench, Kiki Rice<\/a> had 17 and Lauren Betts<\/a> added 16 as the UCLA<\/a> women\u2019s basketball team recorded its eighth win against a ranked opponent with a dominant 88-65<\/a> victory over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to be part of this team,\u201d Dugalic said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to play with these girls. We\u2019re not taking any team for granted. At the end of the day, if you\u2019re our next opponent, that\u2019s who we\u2019re concentrating on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The No. 2 Bruins (21-1 overall, 11-0 Big Ten) won their 15th straight game and improved to 10-0 at home. They lead the conference by one game over No. 9 Michigan, which beat No. 13 Michigan State in overtime Sunday.<\/p>\n

Charlisse Leger-Walker<\/a> finished with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds, and Rice dished out seven assists for UCLA, which improved to 3-1 all time against Iowa and 3-0 under coach Cori Close.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled for Angela getting a career high today, but what I\u2019m happy about most is how many different people are stepping up,\u201d Close said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got plenty of weapons. This group couldn\u2019t have been more happy for Angela. I love the way they celebrate each other\u2019s growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ava Heiden netted 19 points and Hannah Stuelke added 13 for the Hawkeyes (18-4, 9-2), who were trying to rebound from Thursday night\u2019s 81-69 loss to unranked USC at Galen Center.<\/p>\n

It was supposed to be UCLA\u2019s toughest game since its defeat to No. 4 Texas<\/a> in December. Instead the Bruins made it look easy by getting every player involved. They racked up 29 assists and were 50% from three-point range and eight for eight at the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez drives to the basket against Iowa in the first half.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

No. 1 Connecticut routed No. 15 Tennessee by 30 to stay undefeated while Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 Louisiana State and No. 7 Louisville also won Sunday.<\/p>\n

Having lost to the top two teams in the country, Iowa coach Jan Jensen was asked to compare them. <\/p>\n

\u201cBoth are outstanding at every position,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cLauren [Betts] is so hard to guard. One difference is UConn\u2019s full-court pressure. You could put your money on both of them to be there at the end. Maybe a slight edge to UConn, only because they press, but I have all the respect in the world for Cori and her staff. They do it the right way. UCLA is really good. They saw what we were trying to do and made us not play our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Close said her team is not where she wants it to be quite yet.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA guard Kiki Rice, right, looks for a pass in front of Iowa guard Chit-Chat Wright during the first half Sunday.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing to UConn in the tournament last year taught me that you can never be satisfied,\u201d Close said. \u201cThe edge is a really good place and I want us to live on that edge every day, not rely on our talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rice\u2019s layup capped a 6-0 run to put the Bruins up by 13 with 4:21 left in the first half. Iowa closed within eight before Kneepkens drained a corner three at the buzzer to give UCLA a 39-28 lead at halftime. UCLA outscored Iowa 28-10 in the paint in the half.<\/p>\n

Betts\u2019 jumper increased the Bruins\u2019 lead to 22 with 3:10 left in the third, but she picked up her fourth personal foul two minutes later and Iowa took advantage while scoring the final five points of the quarter. Dugalic\u2019s third three-pointer gave UCLA its largest lead, 86-59, with a little more than three minutes left.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

\u201cThe confidence we have is mainly because we know we put in the work in practice,\u201d Betts said. \u201cCoach never lets up in terms of playing to our standard. We try to get ball inside because we have amazing post presence. We want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

UCLA hosts Rutgers on Wednesday before its showdown with Michigan next Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngela earned everything she got today,\u201d Close said. \u201cSure, she benefits from how dominant Lauren is, but we posted her up, we ran plays to get her three … show me a more versatile forward in the country than her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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