NCAAW: UCLA gets revenge, wins B1G Tournament

UCLA finally defeated USC, and they did it in the biggest game, winning the Big Ten Tournament final, 72-67.

The Bruins got it done, with Lauren Betts leading the way. She shot 70 percent from the field and scored 17 points, along with grabbing five rebounds. Kiki Rice and Londynn Jones stepped up as well, scoring 13 points a piece. For the Trojans, JuJu Watkins scored 29 points, but struggled in the second half. USC’s offense stalled, and the team lost its double-digit lead.

UCLA came out to a quick start in this one, leading 7-3 after a Betts bucket inside. USC responded with a basket by Kiki Iriafen, and the Trojans started rolling. Watkins scored seven points as part of a 9-0 run, forcing the Bruins to call a timeout.

Malia Samuels then hit a 3 for the Trojans, and USC was in control, up 17-11. UCLA avoided disaster at that moment with their outside shooting. Timea Gardiner hit a pair of 3s to keep the Bruins within four. A Clarice Akunwafo layup extended USC’s lead to six, but a Rice layup to end the first made it a 24-19 for the Trojans lead after one quarter of play.

Kendall Dudley began the scoring for UCLA in the second, and then both teams exchanged 3s, making it a 27-24 game with USC leading by three. A Betts basket made it a one-point game, but Iriafen immediately scored to keep USC in front.

USC continued to apply a lot of ball pressure, force turnovers and put UCLA in uncomfortable situations through the first half. Midway through the second, there was a possession where Rice was being pressured so much that she nearly fell, but she maintained control and ultimately drove to the basket and scored while getting fouled. After making the basket, she was on the floor and let out a guttural scream, which seemed to express joy as well as relief that she was able to beat the ball pressure.

USC extended their lead thanks to a 6-0 run by Watkins, giving the Trojans a 42-35 advantage with 1:29 left to play in the half. Avery Howell ended the period with a dagger 3-pointer, and the Trojans were ahead by double figures at the break.

Talia von Oelhoffen kept the Trojans rolling in the third with another 3-pointer. The Bruins finally got back on the board with a Jones triple at the 6:51 mark. Both teams exchanged baskets midway through the third as USC stayed ahead 52-45.

However, UCLA responded in a big way, going on a 7-2 run to end the third. Betts kept the scoring going for UCLA and tied the game up at 54 with 8:54 left to play in the fourth.

Then, a Janiah Barker jumper gave the Bruins the lead for the first time since the early moments in the first. All the momentum was going in UCLA’s favor as Betts had a nice rejection on Watkins. Moments later, the Bruins forced her into another turnover. Watkins made it to the line and scored a pair of much-needed free throws to end the UCLA run and get USC back within two. The Bruins went on a quick 4-0 scoring burst, and Watkins made another pair at the free throw line, but UCLA stayed ahead by four. After Rice made two free throws, UCLA was up 64-58.

USC’s offense had completely stalled as they didn’t have any field goals in the quarter. The Trojans continued to miss shot after shot until Watkins finally made a jumper with 1:13 left in the game.

With UCLA up by four, they called for a timeout to sort out their final possessions. Betts responded by hitting a huge bucket, and after Rice made a pair of free throws, the Bruins led by six with 25 seconds to go. USC failed to get a shot off and instead turned the ball over. Jones was fouled, made her free throw attempts, and the result was sealed.

With 10.7 seconds, Watkins hit a 3-pointer and then stole the ball and hit a tough runner to make it a three-point game. However, Jones made her final free throws, and UCLA got their revenge, finally beating USC this season.

Final thoughts

These two teams are evenly matched, but UCLA finally got the win over USC. Betts got more involved in the second half. The Bruins shot well from deep and wore Watkins down.

Both USC and UCLA will likely be top seeds in the NCAA Tournament, and they made each other better when facing one another. Now, let’s see how far they can make it in the Big Dance. Who knows, maybe we get USC-UCLA IV in the Final Four?