No. 3 UCLA knew it would have to battle ranked opponents in back-to-back games this week, facing No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 North Carolina. The Bruins didn’t get off to great starts in either games, but UCLA dominated after halftime, picking up a pair of wins and moving to 4-0 on the season.
UCLA entered the season with championship aspirations and through four games nothing has changed for the Bruins. They have shown elite depth, improved shooting and they have the best defensive player in the country in Lauren Betts. Here’s five takeaways from Thursday’s victory.
Dominant defense after halftime
North Carolina led 17-12 after the first quarter and the Tar Heels trailed just 35-34 at halftime but UCLA head coach Cori Close had her team playing inspired defense in the second half.
North Carolina scored 12 points in the third quarter on 33.3% shooting and then followed that up with 14 points on 27.8% shooting in the fourth to close out the win.
Balanced offensive approach
With the Bruins having so much talent, they don’t need to rely on any one player possession after possession. Betts led the team with 15 field goal attempts, following her was Kiki Rice with 12 and Angela Dugalic with 11. Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens each finished with seven shots. This sort of balance will be a nightmare for opponents to gameplan.
Lauren Betts’ playmaking
Betts had an amazing junior year but it’s clear she’s made a stride as a playmaker this season. She finished Thursday’s game with seven assists, boosting her average to 4.0 on the season up from 2.7 last year. Betts will see lots of double-teams and she’ll need to make teams pay for it.
Kiki Rice being more aggressive?
Rice recovered from a shoulder surgery over the offseason but she’s come back looking to get shots up. She’s averaging 13.8 points per game, that total would be a career high. Rice has shot only 27.3% from three and if she can improve from deep it’ll make the Bruins even more dangerous.
Is the Angela Dugalic breakout for real?
It was assumed there would be less on Dugalic’s plate with the addition of Sienna Betts this offseason. The younger Betts has been out for the first four games of the season which has allowed Dugalic to cook. She’s averaging a career high 8.8 points and has been huge off the bench against Oklahoma and North Carolina.
Dugalic is in her fifth collegiate season and that experience has made her look quite comfortable off the bench for the Bruins so far this season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Five takeaways from UCLA’s 78-60 win over No. 11 North Carolina in Las Vegas
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
