Westwood, CA – No. 17 USC’s Kara Dunn landed the first punch, hitting a deep triple to give USC their first short-lived lead before No. 4 UCLA warmed-up behind the hot post play of Lauren Betts’ double-double, dropping 18 points and 12 rebounds for the game to break the overall series tiebreaker with a 80-46 statement victory on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.
“Someone told me before the game our programs were 54-54 in the all-time matchup, so this was the rubber match,” said coach Cori Close, “One thing we share is that we want to grow the game together in L.A. I’m proud to partner with Lindsay [Gottlieb] in that.”
USC Coach Lindsay Gottleib embarrassed by her team’s 34-point loss mentioned about her team’s growth through intentional scheduling of gut-checking games in the start of the season.
“I’ve learned, from what we’ve seen right now in three games, that we’re not as competitive as we want to be with the top five teams in the country, coach Gottlieb said. “I’m not sorry we have them on our schedule. We’re not trying to be a top-25, top-15 team — we’re trying to be the national champions. We’re trying to be the best program in the country… I’m also not trying to kid ourselves or pad our stats and just play whoever and think we’re as good as we need to be.”
While Women of Troy had their three-game win streak ended, this was the Bruins’ eighth consecutive win and still undefeated in Big Ten action. Utah Transfer Gianna Kneepkens pitched in 15 points, six rebounds and five assists while KiKi Rice added 14 for the Bruins (14-1, 4-0 Big Ten), ranking first place now in their conference.
Dunn had the team high 11 points and standout freshman Jazzy Davidson added 10 points despite another challenging offensive nite, shooting 4-of-15 and slightly better from behind the arc, 2-of 6 plus three blocks for the Women of Troy (10-4, 2-1).
Former Bruin and USC transfer, Londynn Jones, started this game her third time for the season but was completely shutdown with a dismal shooting night, 1-of-9 from field and 1-of-5 from deep. Bruins fans did not make her return a comfortable one with constant booing even in her pregame announcement as well as her former team blowing out her current team.
“Londynn will always be a part of our journey here,” coach Close said. “The continued building process includes her, even though she’s wearing a different jersey now. She made a tough decision that her and her family felt was right for her.”
The crosstown rivals were head-to-head at 16-all to close the opening period.
UCLA broke the game open after a few defensive stops turned into easy scores, eventually outscoring USC 27-12. Women of Troy were outrebounded 15-3, leading to several extra possessions for the Bruins whom closed the first half on a 16-2 run, 43-28.
“This is the hardest-working team I’ve ever been around, I’ve got to kick them out of the gym,” coach Close said. “There’s a difference between hard work and competing. Now I want them all to transfer that hard work into competitive awareness.”
UCLA dominated on both ends, leading almost every stats with L. Betts breaking down Women of Troy post defenders like legos advantaging the Bruins, 42-10 in the paint. USC had no answers for UCLA which includes seven former McDonald High School All-Americans after that first period.
Women of Troy were outplayed and perhaps outmatched by Bruins big lineup and overall roster, pounding the boards, 46-26.
USC has not won against a top-5 teams this season without their star top scorer, JuJu Watkins nor much of solid post presence since KiKi Iriafen graduated to the WNBA, with early season losses to No. 1 UConn and prior No. 3 South Carolina. This time with a better start in the game, USC were held to six points in the fourth quarter.
“We decided we’re not going to let them shoot any more threes,” Betts said. “That was keeping them in the game. I was helping on ball screens but it was a team effort.”
UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez added 12 points and six rebounds to give Bruins four starters in double digits. Plenty of media attention including ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith and alumni celebrities like Reggie and Cheryl Miller whom celebrated a birthday came out in the rain to support both teams as well as women’s basketball following Coach Close’s outcry about previous limited media during a road game between UCLA vs Ohio State.
USC hosts Oregon on Tuesday, January 6th and UCLA travels to No. 20 Nebraska on January 11th.
