Saturday, March 23
Los Angeles, CA
6:30 PM
UCLA
26-6,13-5Pac-12
84
vs
55
California Baptist
28-4,18-2WAC
1
2
3
4
F
California Baptist
8
14
16
17
55
UCLA
17
17
23
27
84
Charisma Osborne
Photo by: Caren Nicdao
Women's Basketball Rolls to 84-55 Win in NCAA Tournament Opener
March 23, 2024 | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The second-seeded UCLA women's basketball team never trailed en route to an 84-55 win against No. 15 seed California Baptist in NCAA Tournament first-round action Saturday at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Kiki Rice of the Bruins (26-6) scored 20 points to lead all players. Gabriela Jaquez added 19. Charisma Osborne narrowly missed a triple-double, totaling 15 points and game highs of 15 rebounds and nine assists. The 15 boards also marked a career high for the redshirt senior and helped UCLA to a 50-30 team advantage. Londynn Jones rounded out a quartet of double-digit-scoring Bruins with 12 points.
The Lancers (28-4), who were making their NCAA Tournament debut after winning the Western Athletic Conference championship, got a team-high 16 point from Kinsley Barrington. Nae Nae Calhoun added a dozen. CBU, which made 9.9 3-pointers per game on the year going into Saturday, knocked down just four of 21 tries (19%) from beyond the arc and converted 17 of 59 from the field overall (29%).
The night's first eight points were scored by the Bruins. Jaquez, making her sixth start of the season, and Angela Dugalic each scored six points to help UCLA establish a 17-8 lead after one. CBU converted just three of 18 shots.
Rice logged six of seven Bruin points during a second-quarter stretch of 2:35 during which their advantage grew to 24-12. The Lancers scored the next nine, with Emily Sewell and Anaiyah Tu'ua putting up four each, making it a one-possession game. UCLA closed the half strong, though, going on a 10-1 run of its own to take a 34-22 lead into halftime. Rice was the catalyst of that latter scoring spree, as well, and registered 11 second-quarter points for a game-high 13 in the initial 20 minutes.
The Bruins needed just 51 second-half seconds to score eight unanswered points and bring their advantage to 20, forcing a CBU timeout in the process. The margin was pushed to 22 (55-33) following a fast-break layup by Rice with 2:19 remaining in the third. The Lancers chipped away at their deficit again, but Osborne's jumper in the quarter's final seconds put UCLA up 57-38. Jaquez scored eight points in the frame.
The Bruins called a timeout after Calhoun's 3-pointer made their lead 62-48 with 7:01 to go in the contest. Christeen Iwuala would help UCLA answer, scoring all eight of her points the rest of the way. The Bruins recorded the last 11 points and 16 of the final 18.
UP NEXT: No. 7 seed Creighton (Monday)
UCLA meets seventh-seeded Creighton (26-5) Sunday at a time to be announced. The Bluejays beat No. 10 seed UNLV Saturday at Pauley Pavilion by a score of 87-73. The NCAA Tournament second-round matchup will be the third-ever women's basketball meeting between UCLA and Creighton. The Bruins are 2-0 in the series, with both wins coming under The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close.
Kiki Rice of the Bruins (26-6) scored 20 points to lead all players. Gabriela Jaquez added 19. Charisma Osborne narrowly missed a triple-double, totaling 15 points and game highs of 15 rebounds and nine assists. The 15 boards also marked a career high for the redshirt senior and helped UCLA to a 50-30 team advantage. Londynn Jones rounded out a quartet of double-digit-scoring Bruins with 12 points.
The Lancers (28-4), who were making their NCAA Tournament debut after winning the Western Athletic Conference championship, got a team-high 16 point from Kinsley Barrington. Nae Nae Calhoun added a dozen. CBU, which made 9.9 3-pointers per game on the year going into Saturday, knocked down just four of 21 tries (19%) from beyond the arc and converted 17 of 59 from the field overall (29%).
The night's first eight points were scored by the Bruins. Jaquez, making her sixth start of the season, and Angela Dugalic each scored six points to help UCLA establish a 17-8 lead after one. CBU converted just three of 18 shots.
Rice logged six of seven Bruin points during a second-quarter stretch of 2:35 during which their advantage grew to 24-12. The Lancers scored the next nine, with Emily Sewell and Anaiyah Tu'ua putting up four each, making it a one-possession game. UCLA closed the half strong, though, going on a 10-1 run of its own to take a 34-22 lead into halftime. Rice was the catalyst of that latter scoring spree, as well, and registered 11 second-quarter points for a game-high 13 in the initial 20 minutes.
The Bruins needed just 51 second-half seconds to score eight unanswered points and bring their advantage to 20, forcing a CBU timeout in the process. The margin was pushed to 22 (55-33) following a fast-break layup by Rice with 2:19 remaining in the third. The Lancers chipped away at their deficit again, but Osborne's jumper in the quarter's final seconds put UCLA up 57-38. Jaquez scored eight points in the frame.
.@CharismaOsborne and @kiki_rice0 are built for March ??#MarchMadness x ?? ESPN2 / @UCLAWBB pic.twitter.com/wI1Qw97Onq
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 24, 2024
The Bruins called a timeout after Calhoun's 3-pointer made their lead 62-48 with 7:01 to go in the contest. Christeen Iwuala would help UCLA answer, scoring all eight of her points the rest of the way. The Bruins recorded the last 11 points and 16 of the final 18.
UP NEXT: No. 7 seed Creighton (Monday)
UCLA meets seventh-seeded Creighton (26-5) Sunday at a time to be announced. The Bluejays beat No. 10 seed UNLV Saturday at Pauley Pavilion by a score of 87-73. The NCAA Tournament second-round matchup will be the third-ever women's basketball meeting between UCLA and Creighton. The Bruins are 2-0 in the series, with both wins coming under The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close.
Team Stats
CBU
UCLA
FG%
.288
.429
3FG%
.190
.290
FT%
.810
.750
RB
30
50
TO
13
15
STL
10
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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