UCLA maintains comfortable lead halfway through fourth quarter
UCLA built a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, its largest of the game, and held a 67-53 advantage with 4:38 to go in the contest.
Lauren Betts is up to 26 points and 10 rebounds to notch her 19th double-double of the season and 31st of her career. She is 13 of 14 from the floor.
The Bruins are shooting 61 percent from the field (28 of 46) and has never trailed in the game despite 16 turnovers.
UCLA closing in on Elite Eight berth with more hot shooting
UCLA is ever closer to that Sweet 16 breakthrough.
The Bruins rode the hot shooting of Lauren Betts to build a 55-44 lead through three quarters as UCLA outscored Mississippi 25-15 in the period.
Betts is up to 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting to go with eight rebounds and three blocks.
At stake in the fourth quarter: UCLA’s second Elite Eight berth since 1999 and first since 2018.
UCLA builds on its advantage as Lauren Betts stays hot from the field
If it’s not broken, why fix it?
UCLA rode the shooting of Lauren Betts inside and Londynn Jones from beyond the three-point line to build a 47-33 lead with 4:49 to go in the third quarter.
Betts is up to 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting. She also has seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
UCLA bursts out of the gate to start second half, extends lead
UCLA scored the first eight points of the third quarter to build a 38-29 lead with 8:11 to go in the period and force a quick timeout by Mississippi.
Londynn Jones nailed a three-pointer, just the Bruins’ second of the game, to make it 33-29 before Kiki Rice scored five straight points, on a driving layup and a three-pointer.
Rice is up to seven points after that burst.
UCLA leads at halftime as Mississippi heats up from the field
UCLA led the entire first half, but did not end the second quarter strong.
Mississippi closed the period on an 8-2 run, hitting its last three shots, to slice the Bruins’ advantage to 30-29 at halftime.
The Rebels shot 28.9 percent from the field (11 of 38) but stayed within striking distance and then drew closer on the strength of 12 offensive rebounds.
The Bruins got 16 points from Lauren Betts, who made her first eight shots from the field before missing one before the halftime buzzer. She will bear watching in the second half, but not just because of her offense.
She sat out for two minutes late in the second quarter and was shown on the broadcast expressing exhaustion to training staff who were attending to her on the bench. She did hit a layup after coming back in for the final 1:43 of the period.
“This is the Sweet 16, it’s a tough game,” Betts said at halftime during the broadcast. “We’re getting up and down, it’s really fast, keep it up.”
UCLA maintains lead but Mississippi claws back into the game
Mississippi has clawed back into the game, but UCLA has maintained a lead throughout, holding a 23-19 advantage with 4:59 to go in the first half.
A 7-0 run that started late in the first quarter put the Rebels back in the game, drawing Ole Miss within 19-17 early in the second period despite continued cold shooting from the floor.
Kiki Rice picked up her second foul with 7:48 to go in the first half and sat down, but Lauren Betts remained perfect from the field with another made shot underneath 30 seconds later.
The Rebels are shooting 23.3 percent from the field (7 of 30) while the Bruins have cooled slightly but are shooting 52.6 percent (10 of 19).
Bruins’ hot shooting stakes them to lead after one quarter
UCLA shot 62 percent from the field (8 of 13) to build a 19-12 advantage over Mississippi after one quarter of play. Ole Miss, meantime, shot 25 percent from the field (5 of 20).
Lauren Betts leads all scorers with 10 points and has made all five of her shots to go with four rebounds and one block.
UCLA scores first six points, builds early advantage behind Lauren Betts
UCLA has jumped out to an 11-5 lead with 3:17 left in the first quarter behind Lauren Betts, who hit her first two shots, and Kiki Rice, who opened the scoring with two free throws.
Angela Dugalic hit a three-pointer with 4:31 left in the period to help the Bruins build their current advantage.
We are off and running in Spokane…
UCLA women get revenge, rallying to defeat USC for Big Ten tournament title
UCLA players celebrate after defeating USC 72-67 in the Big Ten tournament championship game on Sunday.
INDIANAPOLIS — Holding her cellphone at an angle as she sat down in the interview room, championship hat atop her head, Lauren Betts smiled for the selfie alongside teammates Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones.
The picture captured more than a moment, seizing on the combined effort that was needed Sunday afternoon inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
UCLA sets school record by earning No. 1 overall seed in women’s NCAA tournament
UCLA players celebrate with Kiki Rice (1) during a win over Michigan State on Feb. 16.
Gabriela Jaquez leapt out of her chair and whipped her fist through the air. Kiki Rice joined in, jumping up and down with her arms wrapped around Jaquez’s shoulders, wide smiles splitting their faces as they held phones in the air to record a moment that was equal parts joyful and historic.
UCLA earned its highest NCAA tournament position in school history Sunday, securing the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
Secret behind UCLA women’s success? Confidence-boosting visualization techniques
Before examining the film to show what went wrong, UCLA starts every practice with everything that went right. Players hone in on their phone screens, each watching a personal three-minute highlight clip. The routine is as important to UCLA’s daily schedule as stretching and on-court practice.
“It’s not mind-hope or mind-maybe. It’s mindset,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “You have to set your mind on the right things.”
Lauren Betts goes into ‘cheat-code’ mode, leading UCLA to win in NCAA tournament opener
UCLA center Lauren Betts tries to shoot in front of Southern forward Sky Castro during the Bruins’ victory in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament Friday at Pauley Pavilion.
Southern’s Tionna Lidge barely jumped for the opening tip. With UCLA’s Lauren Betts on the other side, the result seemed inevitable.
Betts had 14 points and six rebounds Friday as No. 1-seeded UCLA cruised to an 84-46 win over No. 16 Southern in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA set a program record for the largest margin of victory in an NCAA tournament game, besting a 75-43 thrashing of Texas A&M in 2017.
UCLA once again living the ‘we over me’ mantra in NCAA tournament
UCLA players huddle while bumping fists overhead after beating Southern in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.
All Nike-sponsored schools playing in the NCAA tournament wear different colors of the same warmup shirt. The now-ubiquitous long-sleeve white shirt has “Nothing Easy” printed on the front in bold letters. An emphatic period punctuates the sentence and each school’s logo is printed underneath.
What makes UCLA’s otherwise cookie-cutter postseason look stand out is on the back: “We” printed over a horizontal bar and “me.”
UCLA surges behind Lauren Betts’ 30 points to defeat Richmond and reach Sweet 16
UCLA center Lauren Betts puts up a shot during the Bruins’ win over Richmond in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
The crowd at Pauley Pavilion rose as one as the seconds ticked down. This second half deserved a standing ovation.
UCLA claimed an 84-67 win over No. 8-seed Richmond in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, using an extended 23-2 run in the third quarter to blow open a close game and advance to a third consecutive Sweet 16. The tournament’s No. 1 overall seed will face No. 5 Mississippi in the Regional 1 semifinal in Spokane, Wash., on Friday. Mississippi upset No. 4 Baylor 69-63 in the second round.
UCLA’s juniors are determined to finally advance past the Sweet 16
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SPOKANE, Wash. — Kiki Rice remembers the feeling. The bitter emotions she felt sitting on the training table in UCLA’s locker room in Albany, N.Y., while processing yet another Sweet 16 loss.
A year later the shock has worn off, but the disappointment has remained. UCLA’s star point guard wants to make her third trip to the NCAA regional semifinal the charm.
