Bruins Roll Past Trojans, Secure 66-43 Victory at Pauley

Thursday, January 20

Los Angeles, CA

6:30 PM

UCLA

8-4,3-1Pac-12

USC

9-6,2-3Pac-12

Southern California

UCLA

Charisma Osborne (photo by Caren Nicdao)

Bruins Roll Past Trojans, Secure 66-43 Victory at Pauley

January 20, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Highlights Charisma Osborne Postgame Interview Box Score (PDF)Postgame Presser -- Charisma Osborne and IImar'I Thomas Postgame Presser -- Coach Close

By: UCLA Athletics

LOS ANGELES – IImar'I Thomas recorded a game-high 20 points as UCLA (8-4, 3-1) earned its third-straight victory with a dominant, 66-43, victory over crosstown rival, USC (9-5, 2-3).

The Bruins now boast a four-game winning streak in the crosstown rivalry and have outscored the Trojans, 232-146 across the last three meetings.

Charisma Osborne and Natalie Chou contributed 11 and 10 points apiece, respectively. Dominique Onu earned the start and added nine points on 4-for-9 shooting.

The teams exchanged baskets to open the game and the score was tied, 9-9, at the first media stoppage. The Bruins fired off a 7-0 run out of the timeout, capped by a straight-on triple from Osborne (2:21). UCLA would take a 20-13 lead into the second behind nine points from Thomas in the frame.

Onu opened the second quarter with a breakaway layup off a steal, making it 22-13. A quick 4-0 run from the Trojans was answered by buckets from Izzy Anstey and Thomas, forcing a USC timeout with the Bruins ahead, 26-17 (6:34). Thomas could not be stopped, scoring two more baskets to push UCLA's lead to 33-20 (4:46). The Bruins would go on to take a 37-24 lead into the second half.

Thomas put up 15 points in the opening two quarters on an efficient, 7-for-9 shooting effort. Osborne dished out seven assists, which was already good for a season-high total for an entire game.

The Bruins opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run to take a 46-30 lead early in the frame. UCLA's lead was cut to 13 at the third quarter media stoppage, but a triple from Thomas pushed the score back to 49-33. Chantel Horvat got in on the scoring action in the third, scoring back-to-back buckets to give her eight points on the night (season high) and make it a 53-36 after 30 minutes.

Natalie Chou was the story of the fourth quarter, scoring her first 10 points of the game ahead of the media stoppage, helping push the Bruins' lead to 64-40 (4:00). UCLA would maintain its dominant advantage and win by a final score

Up Next: UCLA at USC (Jan. 23)
The Bruins and Trojans are set to square off again on Sunday, Jan. 23 at Galen Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network with Anne Marie Anderson and Mary Murphy on the broadcast call. Dave Marcus' radio broadcast is available at ucla.leanplayer.com.