Addy Brown's Bruin breakout leads No. 10 UCLA over Arizona

LOS ANGELES - No. 10 UCLA (3-0) faced their toughest opponents yet in the Arizona Wildcats (2-1) on Thursday, but the matchup between the Big Ten and Big 12 ended 76-44 in the Bruins' favor, defined by a fresh defensive scheme and some hot hands off the bench.

The physicality between both sides was apparent early on. Scrappy defense and hard contact defined the first 10 minutes of play and confronted the Bruins with their toughest challenge yet, though they didn't back down themselves. 

Adjusting to physicality

"It was definitely a bit of an adjustment early," senior forward Addy Brown said. "They're [Arizona] a very physical team, so we had to come out and match that and be even more physical. Beating every pass... and just working to get the ball inside and work inside out."

That effort worked out in the Bruins' favor. As they met the Wildcats where they were, they effectively limited any offense the Wildcats were trying to generate while striking ahead with their own. It wasn't UCLA's best shooting night by any means, but Arizona in turn was held to just 24.1% from the field and a disparity like that makes all the difference. 

UCLA's offense was defined in its variety against Arizona, with five different Bruins scoring in the double figures, but Brown's performance was certainly the hottest of the night. 

She led the game with 18 points, her most scored in an UCLA uniform, while shooting 6-13 from the field and adding eight rebounds and four assists. Brown's scoring off the bench was certainly electric, but even more impressive the versatility she showed and her ability to dictate the floor while she was on it, giving UCLA a valuable floor general to call upon off the bench.

Brown's breakout

"This was a really breakout game for Addy," head coach Cori Close said. "I appreciate Addy's spirit and how coachable she's been. I really have been maybe hardest on her."

Behind Brown was senior forward Timea Gardiner with 16 points, who has continued to heat up after coming back from missing all of last season with a leg injury, sophomore forward Sienna Betts with an 11 point, 10 rebound double-double and freshman guard Somto Okafor who, in her first-ever NCAA start, scored 10 points. 

The variety in UCLA's scoring is an expected outcome for a team this diverse in talent, but the defensive side of things is where this season's Bruins are really defining themselves as different from the past. 

Applying pressure

UCLA employed a half court press defensive scheme far more often and aggressively than than the Bruins had before this season or at all during the 2025-26 season. 

Part of that adjustment was to combat the aggressiveness of Arizona's forwards, but another aspect of it is a natural progression to playing with the smaller, guard-oriented lineup that Close is using.

"We don't have the same level of rim protection that we had in the past. I'm not just talking about Lauren Betts. I'm talking about Angela Dugalic... So, what's the counter to that?" Close said. "Well, you've got to make them think about our pressure... We want them to have to think about our pressure for 94 feet. Every dead ball, every main basket, we want them to feel it."