BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – Junior center Lauren Betts netted her ninth double-double of the season as No.1 UCLA (15-0) held on for a 73-62 victory against Big Ten rival Indiana (10-4) Saturday, Jan. 4.
The Hoosiers seemed to have no answer for Betts in the paint, who charged under the hoop again and again to score. Betts finished the game with team-leading 25 points and 12 rebounds.
UCLA junior guard Kiki Rice scored 12 points and netted seven assists and junior guard Gabriela Jaquez scored 11 points for the Bruins in the win.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Bruins. In three of the game’s four quarters UCLA and Indiana were within just two-points-or-less of each other in scoring.
The only real disparity in scoring, and thus the nail in the coffin for the Hoosiers, came in the second quarter, where they were outmatched by UCLA 15-5.
Indiana wouldn’t score in the second until over seven minutes in, and their drought allowed the Bruins the opportunity to gain some ground on the scoreboard with a 13-0 run to go up 31-16.
UCLA out-rebounded Indiana, but elsewhere the teams were evenly matched. Indiana ran into foul trouble, with two players fouling out by the game’s end and a third player finishing with four fouls.
Even though the Bruins took home another victory, the fight shown by the Hoosiers is a prelude to tougher matchups to come for the No.1 Bruins, something that UCLA head coach Cori Close spoke about after the team’s New Year’s Day victory against Michigan.
The Bruins led by as much as 16 in the fourth, when a 9-5 run put them up 65-49 with 5:23 remaining in the game. Indiana would fight back, coming as close as eight after a 6-2 run, but were never able to come closer.
UCLA's defense shut down the Hoosiers under the net, taking away Indiana scoring opportunities. Indiana had seven less field goal attempts than the Bruins did and shot worse overall (22-55). The big difference between teams though was points in the paint, the bread and butter of the Bruins offense throughout the season, where they scored 40 to Indiana’s 28.
Indiana junior guard Yarden Garzon led the Hoosiers with 19 points, the second-most by a player on either team behind Betts. Three Indiana players finished the game with double-digit point totals, the same as UCLA.
The Bruins’ Indiana road trip continues with a game against Purdue Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Mackey Arena at 4 pm.