UCLA shines in critical moments to defeat LSU and reach Final Four for first time
SPOKANE, Wash. — This time, everything came together when it mattered most.
Lauren Betts made sure of it, following one powerful move with another.
This time, the last seconds were full of joyous anticipation.
Kiki Rice made the most of them, sinking two late free throws inside Spokane Arena.
This time, there was reason to celebrate the meaning of it all.
Gabriela Jaquez made sure to marinate in this moment, bouncing gleefully toward half-court while her teammates formed a joyous mob.
UCLA knocks off LSU to reach its first NCAA Final Four
This time, UCLA did not wilt. This time, UCLA will play on.
And for the first time in NCAA tournament history, UCLA will be in the Final Four.
The Bruins got a great all-around game from Gabriela Jaquez and hot three-point shooting from Timea Gardiner off the bench to help them weather foul trouble from star center Lauren Betts to hang on for a 72-65 victory over LSU at Spokane Arena.
UCLA, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, absorbed several runs from third-seeded LSU and dug deep each time — in the process avenging last year’s Sweet 16 loss to the Tigers in which the Bruins faded late in the fourth quarter.
Jaquez finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals to lead the Bruins. Gardiner added 15 points on five three-pointers while Betts still managed 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks despite sitting the entire second quarter after picking up two fouls in the first 10 minutes of the contest.
The Bruins, who were in the Elite Eight for the third time in program history, finally broke through to the Final Four for the first time in the history of the NCAA tournament, which was first played in 1982. UCLA reached the Final Four of the AIAW tournament in 1979 and won it all in 1978.
UCLA (33-2) will play the winner of Monday night’s game between USC and UConn, also at Spokane Arena, in the national semifinals on Friday night in Tampa, Fla.
Flau’Jae Johnson had a game-high 28 points for LSU (31-5), which was seeking to reach the Final Four for the second time in three seasons. Aneesah Morrow added 15 points for the Tigers but suffered a broken nose late in the third quarter after crashing into teammate Sa’Myah Smith.
UCLA-LSU going down to the wire as Bruins getting just enough on offense
UCLA holds a 62-55 lead with 1:14 to go in the fourth quarter after a massive three-pointer by Gabriela Jaquez.
The Bruins have been struggling to hang on as six fourth-quarter turnovers have led to LSU closing the gap.
The Bruins went over five minutes without a field goal until Jaquez hit her fourth three-pointer of the game.
Lauren Betts, for her part, has 17 points and six blocks.
UCLA maintains fourth-quarter lead as steady three-point shooting continues
UCLA leads LSU 56-47 with 6:34 to go in the second half as Timea Gardiner has hit a pair of three-pointers to spark the Bruins.
Gardiner has 15 points, all on three-pointers, while Lauren Betts leads the way with 16 points for UCLA.
Gardiner and Gabriela Jaquez have combined to hit eight of 11 three-pointers today. The other Bruins are one for 10 from three-point range.
UCLA leads after three quarters, but LSU closes gap
UCLA leads 46-41 after three quarters after LSU ended the period on a 12-3 run. The Bruins went scoreless in the last 2:14 of the third quarter.
“We’ve got to get better ball movement, we’re stalling way too much,” UCLA coach Cori Close said on the broadcast before the start of the fourth quarter.
The Tigers suffered a blow when Aneesah Morrow broke her nose late in the period when Lauren Betts set a screen against Sa’Myah Smith, whose head snapped back into Morrow’s face. But Morrow was back on the bench and appeared poised to play.
UCLA keeps the pressure on, forces another LSU timeout
UCLA has extended its lead to 43-29 as LSU coach Kim Mulkey has taken another timeout with 6:33 to go in the third quarter.
Lauren Betts made two free throws, then Londynn Jones nailed a jumper after she stole the ball and then Gabriela Jaquez swished a three-pointer with 6:40 to go in the third quarter to give the Bruins their largest lead of the game.
Jaquez is up to 11 points that includes three three-pointers. As a team, UCLA is seven of 13 from three-point range.
LSU forced into quick timeout as UCLA bursts out of the gate in second half
UCLA has opened up a 36-25 lead after scoring the first five points of the third quarter, forcing LSU coach Kim Mulkey to take a timeout with 8:23 left in the period.
Lauren Betts was back on the floor and hit a layup despite a double team. After the Tigers turned the ball over, their 10th of the game, Londynn Jones nailed a three-pointer off an assist from Kiki Rice.
UCLA leads LSU at halftime thanks to big second quarter minus Lauren Betts
UCLA leads LSU 31-25 at haftime as the Bruins rallied to retake the lead despite having Lauren Betts on the bench the entire second quarter with two fouls.
The Bruins outscored the Tigers 22-12 in the period as Timea Gardiner hit three three-pointers off the bench and leads UCLA with nine points. Gabriela Jaquez, who had six points in the Sweet 16 against Mississippi, has eight points, three rebounds and two steals in the first half.
LSU is shooting 11 for 35 from the field (31.4%) and has nine turnovers, but is outrebounding UCLA 28-17.
The ESPN broadcast has repeatedly mentioned UCLA committing 19 turnovers in last year’s Sweet 16 loss to LSU, Thus far, the Bruins have five turnovers.
UCLA surges back into the lead with Lauren Betts on the bench
A 12-2 burst has pushed UCLA into a 23-17 lead over LSU with 4:58 to go in the second quarter.
The Bruins have outscored the Tigers, 14-4, overall in the period — all with Lauren Betts on the bench with two fouls.
But after LSU pushed its lead to 15-11 early in the quarter, UCLA got three-pointers from Timea Gardiner — who hit two — and Gabriela Jaquez to open up a six-point advantage with halftime approaching.
LSU leads after first quarter as Tigers finish with a flourish
LSU surged into the lead by closing the first quarter on a 9-2 run to take an 13-9 lead.
Lauren Betts has six points on three-of-five shooting. The rest of the Bruins? One of 10, the only other field goal being a three-pointer by Gabriela Jaquez.
This poses a problem because Betts also picked up her second foul late in the period — the first time in her career she was assessed two first-quarter fouls.
The Tigers were led back thanks to baskets by Sa’Myah Smith and Aneesah Morrow, who hit a three-pointer, a jumper and a layup in LSU’s run.
UCLA hold an early lead as teams struggle to hit shots
UCLA holds a 7-4 lead with 4:18 left in the first quarter as the top-seeded Bruins have gotten two early buckets from Lauren Betts and a three-pointer from Gabriela Jaquez. Betts was lifted from the game with 7:07 left in the first period, perhaps to avoid picking up a second foul.
LSU has started two of 13 from the field (15.4%) but is outrebounding the Bruins 13-6.
Starting lineups for UCLA and LSU in the Elite Eight as we get underway
What’s at stake for UCLA in its Elite Eight game vs. LSU
We’re getting closer to tip-off of UCLA-LSU at Spokane Arena in a highly-anticipated rematch that will decide a spot in the Final Four.
Plenty of history here, some of it recent. On the same date last year, these teams met in the Sweet 16 and LSU finished stronger and emerged with a 78-69 victory over the Bruins. Flau’Jae Johnson had 24 points and 12 rebounds while Lauren Betts finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds in that game.
The less recent history: UCLA is seeking to reach its first Final Four in the NCAA tournament era, which dates to the 1981-82 season. The Bruins, led by coach Billie Moore, reached the Final Four of the AIAW tournament in 1978 and 1979, winning the 16-team tournament in 1978.
UCLA reached the Elite Eight in 1999 and 2018. In 1999, the Bruins were led by Maylana Martin, Erica Gomez, Janae Hubbard and Michelle Greco and were the No. 3 seed in the West Regional, being played at the L.A. Sports Arena.
Thanks to TV obligations, all four regional finals were played on the same day, mandating a 9 p.m. PT tip for UCLA, which squared off against top-seeded Louisiana Tech. The Bruins got off to a 28-18 lead but the Lady Techsters wore the Bruins down and emerged with an 88-62 victory to reach the Final Four in San Jose.
The 2018 Bruins, led by Jordin Canada and Monique Billings, were a preseason top-10 team under coach Cori Close and would finish the season 27-8. UCLA reached the Elite Eight with wins over American, Creighton and Texas as a No. 3 seed. The run ended in Kansas City, Mo., against second-seeded Mississippi State, which emerged with an 89-73 win.
Seven years later, will UCLA have its Final Four breakthrough?
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
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
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.
Lauren Betts dominates again as UCLA advances to Elite Eight showdown with LSU
UCLA center Lauren Betts controls the ball under pressure from Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs during the first half of the Bruins’ 76-62 win in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament on Friday night.
‘Who is going to stop her?’ UCLA’s Lauren Betts at her best ahead of LSU rematch
SPOKANE, Wash. — Cori Close pulls up the year-old film for clues. The UCLA coach searches clips of UCLA’s Sweet 16 loss to Louisiana State last year for reminders of sets to run, defensive game plans that could work and mistakes to be rectified as the teams meet again in the Elite Eight on Sunday. But Close’s most obvious takeaway goes beyond UCLA’s own scouting report.
It’s that Lauren Betts isn’t just good anymore. The 6-foot-7 center has crossed over to dominant.
