Los Angeles – No. 4 UCLA shook off a slow start to dominate No. 17 USC 80-46 to win the first “Battle of LA” of the season on Saturday before 11,241 fans at Pauley Pavilion.
Lauren Betts led the Bruins with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Gianna Kneepkens had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Kiki Rice added 14 points and 9 assists. Gabriela Jaquez scored twelve points and grabbed six rebounds. The hosts outscored the Trojans 46-26, dishing out 24 assists and shooting 53 percent in the nightly loss.
Although UCLA highlighted its depth and balance in the lopsided win, coach Cori Close said it wasn’t their offense that made the difference.
“Our defense was better than our offense today,” she said. “Offense cannot be the place where we find our identity. Defense and rebounding were our anchor tonight.”
The two teams traded baskets throughout the first period and were tied at 16 to end it. Midway through the second, the Bruins went on a 14-0 scoring run after an Angela Dugalic bucket at 8:20 put them ahead for good. They lead by 15 at the half and 25 after three quarters.
USC was limited to 27 percent shooting as Kara Dunn and Jazzy Davidson were the only two to score in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who played with a smaller lineup this season, characterized the performance as embarrassing.
“This is an embarrassing loss. We didn’t compete well,” she said. “We knew they were a good team, but there are a lot of things we can control and we had to compete better.”
The game was 14-1, UCLA’s fifth over a ranked opponent this season, and gave them a 55-54 lead in the all-time series.
The 6-7 Betts was especially effective in the paint, where she said she “camped out the entire game” and helped generate a team-high 42 paint points against the relatively shorter Trojans.
“It was primarily about maintaining space offensively, and I thought our guards did a great job for me – especially in transition,” she said.
Rice said she was impressed with the Bruins’ team effort.
“We have such a balanced group and so many points of attack. I was proud of all of us for the way we progressed,” she said.
Close wants to see improvement as UCLA hits the road over the next two weeks, as nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the AP top 25 poll.
“This is the hardest working team I’ve ever been around. I have to kick them out of the gym,” she said. “There is a difference between hard work and competition. Now I want them all to turn that hard work into competitive consciousness and competitive struggle.”
Betts is a deep, experienced team looking to return to the Final Four this spring and is optimistic based on their response to their cross-town rivals.
“We have to start stronger from the beginning, but I’m proud of the way we immediately transitioned and figured it out, and didn’t take the whole half of it,” she said.
The Bruins face No. 25 Nebraska next Sunday.
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