UCLA
Vanguard
UCLA Posts 113-42 Exhibition Win
November 02, 2015 | Women's Basketball
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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA cruised to a 113-42 victory over Vanguard in its exhibition opener on Sunday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion. Senior guard Nirra Fields scored a game-high 24 points while sophomore guard Jordin Canada chipped in 20 points.
Fields opened the contest with 12 points in the first quarter and had 19 by halftime. She added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Canada scored 12 points in the third and added game-highs of six steals and four assists.
"I'm extremely proud of my team," Fields said. "Our practices have been really hard, so to see us come out and execute and be really intense on defense was great. To see us play hard on defense and keep up the intensity and to do that relentlessly throughout the game, made me really proud."
Vanguard's Kandyce Smith scored a jumper at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter to tie the game at 9-9, but the Bruins closed the quarter with a 26-4 run to lead 35-13. UCLA was never threatened again. The Bruins led 65-25 at the break and then posted a dominant 25-4 third period to take a commanding 90-29 lead into the fourth.
Six different Bruins scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Kelli Hayes and sophomore forward Monique Billings each tallied 12 points while sophomore forward Lajahna Drummer and junior guard Kari Korver each registered 11 for the Bruins.
Both Bruin newcomers had shining moments as freshman forward Ashley Hearn had six points (3-for-3 from the field) and a game-high eight rebounds and freshman guard Kennedy Burke had nine points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
"Our defensive intensity was great," UCLA Head Coach Cori Close said. "I liked the commitment that all of our players had in the game. Sometimes when you have really great offensive players, it takes a little time to get that drilled in. I really liked our commitment to the defensive end of the floor. We are not even close to where we need to be. But in terms of our intensity, I like where we are.
Sophomore forward Paulina Hersler came off the bench to contribute four points, three rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Kacy Swain chipped in four points and five rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
Samantha Doucette was the only Lion to reach double figures, scoring 17 points.
The Bruins shot 55.4 percent (41-for-74) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from three-point range while holding Vanguard to 22.8 percent (13-for-57) from the floor. UCLA dominated the glass (53-29) and won the turnover battle (12-27) thanks in part to recording 20 steals.
"In past exhibition games, we haven't taken this as seriously as we need to take it," Close said. "I think this team showed me some maturity today. They want to be great more than they want to beat the team in front of them. When a team gets that mentality, you have a chance to do something special."
The Bruins return to action on Friday, Nov. 13 at 5:00 p.m. when they open the 2015-16 season by hosting St. John's in a double-header with the UCLA men's team (hosts Monmouth at 8:00 p.m.). Both the Bruins and the Red Storm are receiving votes in the preseason USA TODAY Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Vanguard at UCLA (Exhibition)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Vanguard | 13 | 12 | 4 | 13 | 42 |
| UCLA | 35 | 30 | 25 | 23 | 113 |
