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Los Angeles – No. 4 UCLA shook off a slow start to dominate No. 17 USC, 80-46, and win the first “Battle of LA” of the season Saturday, in front of 11,241 fans at Pauley Pavilion.
Lauren Betts lead the Bruins with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Gianna Kneepkens had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Kiki Rice added 14 points and 9 assists. Gabriela Jaquez netted 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. The hosts outrebounded the Trojans, 46-26, dished 24 assists and shot 53 percent on the night in the rout.
Though UCLA flexed its depth and balance in the lopsided win, coach Cori Close said it wasn’t their offense that made the difference.
“Our defense was better than our offense today,” she said. “Offense cannot be where we find our identity. Defense and rebounding was our anchor tonight.”
The two teams traded baskets throughout the first period, and were tied at 16 to end it. Midway through the second, the Bruins went on a 14-0 scoring run after an Angela Dugalic bucket at the 8:20 mark put them up for good. They lead by 15 at the half and 25 after three quarters.
USC was limited to 27 percent shooting, as Kara Dunn and Jazzy Davidson were the only two to score in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb, playing with a smaller lineup this season, characterized the outing as embarrassing.
“This is an embarrassing loss. We didn’t compete well,” she said. “We knew they were a good team, but there are a lot of things we can control, and we needed to compete better.”
The game was 14-1 UCLA’s fifth over a ranked opponent this season, and gave them a 55-54 edge in the all-time series.
The 6-7 Betts was especially effective in the paint, where she said she “camped out all game,” helping to generate 42 team paint points over the comparatively shorter Trojans.
“It was primarily about maintaining space offensively, and I thought our guards did a great job creating for me – especially in transition,” she said.
Rice said she was impressed with the Bruins’ team effort.
“We have such a balanced group, and so many points of attack. I was proud of all of us for the way we stepped up,” she said.
Close wants to see improvement as UCLA hits the road for the next two weeks, as nine Big Ten teams are ranked in the AP top 25 poll.
“This is the hardest-working team I’ve ever been around. I have to kick them out of the gym,” she said. “There’s a difference between hard work and competing. Now I want them all to transfer that hard work into competitive awareness and competitive fight.”
A deep, veteran team that is seeking a return to the Final Four this spring, Betts is optimistic based on their response against their cross-town rivals.
“We need to start off stronger from the beginning, but I’m proud of the way we switched immediately and figured it out, and didn’t take a whole half to do it,” she said.
The Bruins next face No. 25 Nebraska this Sunday.
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