PISCATAWAY, NJ -- Double-doubles from junior center Lauren Betts and junior guard Kiki Rice led the way for No.1 UCLA (19-0, 7-0) as they triumphed 84-66 over Rutgers (8-12, 0-9) Thursday, Jan. 23.
Betts led the game in points with 25, the fourth time in five games that she has scored 20-or-more points in a game, while also collecting 13 rebounds and five blocks.
Rice recorded 10 assists and scored 10 points while shooting 2-4 from beyond the arc and going a perfect 4-4 at the free throw line.
The Bruins set the tone with a 10-0 run from the jump. The Scarlet Knights would rally to come within as little as six several times in the first quarter, but never closer.
UCLA stepped on the gas in the second quarter. The Bruins outscored the Scarlet Knights 24-6 across roughly six minutes near the end of the quarter to pad their lead 45-22. That span of scoring included runs of 9-0 and 12-0 for the Bruins.
Rutgers closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run of their own, but the damage was done. UCLA led 45-29 at the half. UCLA outscored Rutgers 27-17 in the second quarter, the widest margin of any of the game's periods.
UCLA junior guard Londynn Jones continued her excellence from beyond the arc. Jones scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting from three, the most from three by a player on either team in the game. UCLA outmatched Rutgers in nearly every category in the game. However, the Scarlet Knights had just one more point off the bench than the Bruins did, and their one truly glaring advantage was playing a tighter game than UCLA concerning turnovers.
Rutgers scored 20 points off turnovers compared to just eight scored by UCLA. The Bruins yielded those points through the 12 turnovers they committed, while the Scarlet Knights committed just eight.
Rutgers cut the UCLA lead down to as close as 14 in the second half, doing so with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter before a 8-0 Bruins run quickly shut Rutgers back down, but never came closer.
The Bruins, on the other hand, led by as much as 24 in the second half before closing out the win by 18 points 84-66.
UCLA’s 19th-straight victory keeps them perfect in the Big Ten conference, where they have vied for first place with rival USC, also undefeated in conference play, all season.
The Bruins keep their road trip going with an away game against Maryland in their next matchup Sunday, Jan. 26 at 11 a.m.