Cori Close and the No. 2 UCLA Bruins made it 20 wins in a row on Thursday, knocking off the Washington Huskies 82-67. UCLA now sits at 26-1 on the season and clinched a portion of the Big Ten Conference regular season title. The Bruins will be sole Big Ten champs with a win in either of their final two conference games.
The Huskies held their own against the mighty Bruins
Washington played a strong game, hitting 10 threes and shooting 44% from the field. It wasn’t from lackadaisical Bruin defense either. The Huskies showed why they’ve been ranked this season, even receiving votes in the most recent USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Unfortunately for Washington, they ran into a wrecking ball.
Big Ten hasn’t been a Big problem for UCLA
UCLA has sailed through the Big Ten Conference so far this season. The Big Ten is the second best women’s basketball conference in the country and UCLA is a perfect 16-0. Michigan and Ohio State played the Bruins close but UCLA will be entering tournament season with tons of confidence. It’s not over yet, but UCLA’s final two regular season games should be easy ones to get up for. UCLA will host Wisconsin on Sunday for Senior Day and then face rival USC.
Five Bruins end up with double-figures
Once again Lauren Betts proved to be a matchup nightmare. The 6’7” center collected 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Betts was one of five Bruins with double-figure scoring. Gianna Kneepkens scored 17 points, Kiki Rice had 13 with Angela Dugalic and Gabriela Jaquez each scoring 10.
The need for three
Aside from Kneepkens, UCLA didn’t have a great game from three. UCLA went 27% from three but Kneepkens had three of their four makes. If you remove Kneepkens from the picture, the Bruins went just 1-11 from deep.
UCLA owns the paint
UCLA played all the hits for Thursday’s smooth win, dominating the boards and crushing Washington in the paint. That along with strong defense is why UCLA has such high expectations entering March.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA controls Washington in a familiar way, winning by 15
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
