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Gabriela Jaquez knocks down a huge 3 for UCLA (0:18)
Gabriela Jaquez makes a huge 3-pointer to extend UCLA’s lead late against LSU. (0:18)
SPOKANE, Wash. — As Lauren Betts was trapped in the post, she passed the ball out to an open Gabriel Jaquez, who knocked down a dagger 3-pointer with 1:30 left to seal the UCLA women’s basketball team’s 72-65 win over LSU on Sunday, clinching the Bruins’ first Final Four berth in program history.
It was UCLA’s 10th 3-pointer of the game, the key to its offense against an LSU team that shut the Bruins down in the paint all night. UCLA scored just 16 points in the paint after dominating down low all tournament.
However, the Bruins did shoot 41.7% from the perimeter, and 20 of their 24 attempts were open, per ESPN Research. Jaquez hit a career-high four 3s and led the Bruins with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting, also adding eight assists. Betts finished with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting and seven rebounds.
It was a game of runs. The Bruins struck first, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the first three minutes. But through the final seven minutes of the period, it was all LSU, which outscored UCLA 11-2.
Betts picked up her second foul midway through the quarter, marking the first time she had committed multiple fouls in a single quarter in her career. With her on the bench for the rest of the quarter, UCLA went 0-of-6 from the floor and was a minus-4.
But something clicked for the Bruins in the second quarter. With Betts still on the bench, UCLA went on a 14-4 run, getting a massive boost from Timea Gardiner, who knocked down three 3-pointers. On the other end, LSU guard Mikaylah Williams committed five turnovers.
LSU forward Aneesah Morrow did everything she could to take advantage of the moments Betts was out of the game; she went 1-of-4 when contested by Betts in the first quarter and 3-of-5 against all other defenders. Still, the Tigers trailed 31-25 at the break, registering their second-lowest point total in a half this season.
UCLA started the second half on yet another run, extending their lead to 15 points. But LSU managed to cut it down to five by end of the third quarter.
LSU star Flau’Jae Johnson scored 24 of her 28 points in the second half and put together a run of her own down the stretch of the fourth quarter to help the Tigers cut a nine-point deficit down to five. It was a back-and-forth battle from there until Jaquez’s shot sealed it.
UCLA previously won an AIAW title and appeared in two AIAW semifinals, but had never made it past the Elite Eight in the NCAA era, which began in 1982.
