NEWARK, NJ -- UCLA junior center Lauren Betts came one block and one rebound shy of a triple-double as no. 1 UCLA (18-0,6-0 ) trounced no. 25 Baylor (16-4, 6-1) 72-57 in the first game of the Coretta Scott King Classic.
The game began as many had for the Bruins this season: with them off to a screaming start. UCLA took off on a 15-0 run and led 17-2 over Baylor within the first five minutes of the game.
It would have been easy to expect another blowout win for the undefeated Bruins after such a meteoric start, but the Bears were undeterred.
Baylor took off on a 7-0 run of their own to begin chipping away at UCLA’s lead, and while the Bruins finished the first quarter up by 10 points 19-9, it was clear that Baylor would not take the defeat lying down.
Baylor controlled the play in the second quarter, where they outscored the Bruins 20-18. The Bears didn’t dictate the second quarter with any massive scoring runs of their own, but with steady, tenacious play to inch up the scoreboard.
One factor that Baylor could clearly not control was powerhouse UCLA junior center Lauren Betts. Betts has been a juggernaut for the Bruins all season and may have outdone herself against Baylor.
The six-foot-seven center finished with a game-high 24 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks, a UCLA women’s basketball record. Betts especially took off in the second half, where she scored 15 of her points while shooting 7-11 from the field.
Baylor’s aggressiveness on defense allowed them to create scoring opportunities in the first half. The Bears forced the Bruins to commit 11 turnovers in the first half alone and scored 19 points on turnovers in that same span. Baylor’s tenacity on defense was the factor that kept them in contention as the Bruins outmatched them in virtually every other offensive category in the first half.
The Bears closed out the second half still trailing UCLA 37-29, but managed to cut the lead down to single digits.
The Baylor resurgence of the second quarter seemed to fade at halftime. The Bruins outscored the Bears by seven points across the final two quarters and played a much cleaner second half overall compared to the first, only turning over the ball seven times and continuing to dominate in the paint, scoring 22 second-half-points under the hoop.
The Bruins’ defense continued to be as stifling as ever in the game. UCLA has the second lowest opponent field goal percentage in the nation at 33.3%, and that shut down ability showed up again against Baylor: they held the Bears to just 28% from the field.
UCLA led by as much as 18 in the fourth, their largest lead of the night, and stayed well ahead of Baylor throughout the fourth quarter. They dribbled out the final few minutes of the game to a 72-57 victory, their program-best 18th straight win to start the season.
Betts was not the only Bruin bringing it to the scoreboard. Four UCLA players in total finished the game with double digit points including junior guard Kiki Rice, who scored 15 points on 5-7 FG shooting, including two three pointers. Rice has scored 10-or-more points in 12 games this season for the Bruins.
UCLA will stay in New Jersey for their next matchup, traveling to play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Thursday, Jan. 23 at 4 pm in a return to Big Ten conference play.