SACRAMENTO — During the UCLA women’s basketball team’s dominant run all season, a question has lingered.
When the moment comes, can the No. 1 Bruins actually deal with adversity?
They answered on Sunday, storming back from their first double-digit deficit of the season to earn a 70-58 Elite Eight victory over No. 3 Duke and advance to the Final Four for the second straight year.
Lauren Betts tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, with 15 points and eight rebounds coming in the second half, while matching a season high five blocks.
Angela Dugalic went four for eight with four rebounds and two steals in the second half and was the catalyst for many big moments, including a buzzer-beating floater to end the third quarter and a lead-extending layup and free throw off an offensive rebound to create separation in the fourth. She finished with 15 points off the bench.
UCLA turned on the aggression early in the third, taking deeper shots and forcing three jump-balls and four turnovers as it came from behind in the second half for the first time all season. The Bruins outscored Duke 20-8 in the third quarter.
UCLA center Lauren Betts drives to the basket over Duke forward Toby Fournier in the first half of the Bruins’ win in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA tournament Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
The only other time the Bruins (35-1) trailed at halftime was during their November loss to Texas, their sole defeat.
Duke (27-9) scored 18 points off 18 Bruins turnovers, tied for the most UCLA has committed all season and 12 of those came in the first half. But the Bruins turned it around in the second half with 18 points off the 13 Duke turnovers.
UCLA trailed by as much as 10 and was down 39-31 at the half. The Bruins’ 12 first-half turnovers and zero made three-pointers knocked them off their rhythm.
Duke’s 26.8% opposing three-point percentage is the 15th-best in the nation and that challenged the Bruins’ offense, which became one dimensional trying to get the ball to Betts in the post.
But Gabriela Jaquez, who finished with nine points and five rebounds, hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter to get back within five, and Duke missed six consecutive shots while the Bruins narrowed the gap. Toby Fournier (10 points) also committed her third foul early in the quarter, forcing the Blue Devils’ center off the floor.
Both offenses stalled for a period in the third quarter, but consecutive Duke turnovers led to a Charlisse Leger-Walker fast-break layup and a Gianna Kneepkens three-pointer for UCLA’s first lead since the opening seconds of the game.
Duke didn’t score for 5:40 in the third quarter until Taina Mair (team-high 21 points) made a free throw with 32 seconds remaining. The eight Blue Devils’ points were tied for the fewest they’ve scored in a quarter this season.
UCLA extended its lead to 12 in the fourth and held Duke to 19 points in the half overall. Duke’s one three-pointer was its fewest in a game this season.
A lot changed since the teams last played in the regular season, when UCLA defeated the Blue Devils 89-59. Duke was 3-5 after the loss to UCLA in November, getting off to a poor start against nonconference teams. Duke then went 24-3, including its buzzer-beating upset of No. 2 Louisiana State on Friday to get to the Elite Eight.
The Bruins will face the winner of No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Michigan in the Final Four on Friday in Phoenix.
