UCLA women dominate in near 50-point rout of Purdue
After Sunday’s 30-point win over then-No. 12 Maryland — UCLA’s largest margin of victory over a top 15 team since 1992 — it would have been easy for the Bruins to take unranked Purdue lightly.
Instead, the UCLA women played with the intensity and focus characteristic of an NCAA tournament game, dominating from start to finish in a 96-48 triumph Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion.
The third-place Bruins (18-1 overall, 8-0 in the Big Ten) won for the 12th straight time and are more than halfway to matching the program record of 23 consecutive games set last year. The 48-point victory marked the sixth straight by 18 points or more as the Bruins emerged from a tie with Iowa for sole possession of first place in the conference.
All five starters scored in double figures. Gabriela Jaquez led the way with 25 points on 10-for-11 shooting, Lauren Betts had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Kiki Rice and Charlisse Leger-Walker each added 15 points and Gianna Kneepkens had 14.
“The scoring streaks we had were the result of a record season in turnovers,” said coach Cori Close, whose team made 13 three-pointers and had a 32-8 edge in points off turnovers. “It wasn’t our best game. I’m proud of where we’re going, but we have a lot of room for improvement.”
Rice had 15 points and five rebounds in the first two quarters, making it eight of eight from the free throw line, and Kneepkens had 11, making three of four from three-point range, as the Bruins held a 46-20 lead at intermission, the fewest points UCLA has given up in the first half since holding Cal Poly to 16 on Dec. 16.
UCLA increased its margin to 30 late in the third quarter and went on a 16-0 run for nearly six minutes in the fourth quarter to remain perfect on its home court.
“I’m proud of our guards for shooting those threes and making them,” Betts said. “It’s very difficult for other teams to protect us when we’re hitting from the perimeter.”
Eight Big Ten schools are in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll: No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Iowa, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 15 Maryland, No. 24 Nebraska and No. 25 Washington. Only the Southeast Conference has more with nine.
“The rankings don’t mean much to us,” Betts said. “We have our own standard and try to compete at our highest level every time.”
Jaquez was three for three from long range and credited Betts with giving him open looks.
“Lauren is a great passer and she hits me with good shots,” said Jaquez, who was charged with her third personal game late in the first half. “I changed my focus at halftime and decided I wasn’t going to foul. When you get into a rhythm and see the ball go into the basket a few times, it gives you the confidence to keep shooting.”
The Bruins donned throwback jerseys, a tribute to the 1977-78 UCLA championship team from the Assn. for women’s intercollegiate athletics and showed why a second national title is a possibility in April if the team continues to perform at its current level.
“We want to honor the players and teams that came before us,” Close said. “More importantly, we want play in a way that honors them.
Nya Smith scored 14 points, Avery Gordon 13 and Tara Daye 10 for the Boilermakers (10-9, 2-6), who lost their third straight meeting with UCLA and fell to 2-4 all-time against the Bruins.
“If you play defense, your offense is a lot easier,” Close said. “If you don’t follow the scouting report and take away what they’re good at, they’ll do what they’re good at. We let that happen a little too often tonight.”
Betts continues to encourage his sister Sienna to shoot. The freshman forward had six points in 17 minutes.
“She won’t look the same as she did in high school,” Lauren said. “It doesn’t matter. She’s good enough to be on this team and she’ll get more comfortable the more she plays.”
UCLA opens a two-game trip Sunday at Northwestern.
