Freshman Somto Okafor holds a basketball over her head to dodge a defender against the California Golden Bears inside Haas Pavilion during UCLA's preseason exhibition game in Berkeley.Freshman Somto Okafor holds a basketball over her head to dodge a defender against the California Golden Bears inside Haas Pavilion during UCLA's preseason exhibition game in Berkeley.

Somto Okafor (Photo: Caren Nicdao)

Even Offense Leads UCLA Past Cal, 87-53, in Preseason Exhibition

Women's Basketball

Five players finished in double figures; ten Bruins scored in the 34-point win.

Berkeley, Calif. – UCLA Women’s Basketball collected an 87-53 victory against former Pac-12 foe California in the Jason Kidd Foundation x Verderia Tipoff hosted by the Golden Bears on Wednesday evening.

The Bruins had a balanced offense, finishing with five players in double figures. Ten Bruins scored in the 34-point win.

Junior Elina Aarnisalo led all scorers with 20 points (4-of-5 3FG) and assisted on seven baskets without a turnover in the game. Sophomore Sienna Betts notched a preseason double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds; the forward added four blocks to her final stat line.

Freshman Somto Okafor scorched the Golden Bears with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Fifth year players KK Bransford (14 PTS, 6-9 FG) and Timea Gardiner (11 PTS, 4-7 FG) rounded out the Bruins in double digit scoring.

The Bruins scored seven-straight points out of the gate, four of which were scored by Betts, before finding themselves in a 0-for-9 drought. Okafor broke the dry spell off an offensive rebound that found the bottom of the net from the right wing. Graduate transfer KK Bransford found senior Addy Brown in transition on the next trip down. The Bruins added one more score to take a five-point lead heading into the second quarter.

Senior Donovyn Hunter, left open in the left corner, cashed a triple for UCLA’s first score of the period. Junior Elina Aarnisalo laid the ball in for her second score of the evening to give UCLA its first double-digit lead. After a Cal bucket, Brown scored on back-to-back possessions to put UCLA at a 12-point advantage. Aarnisalo fed senior Amanda Muse her first bucket to stop a 6-0 run by the Golden Bears; Bransford took a trip to the elbow for a jumper to get her first points. The guard connected on a triple on the following possession, her first in a Bruin uniform. Okafor attacked the basket with time winding down, converting a layup with two seconds on the clock.

UCLA took a 32-19 lead into the intermission.

Aarnisalo started the second half with an offensive rebound off her own elbow jumper, flashing down the lane for the board and quick layup. Cal picked up three quick fouls in the first minute and twenty seconds, putting them in early trouble in the third. Betts went 1-for-2 at the line before getting another paint score. Aarnisalo wrapped the ball behind her back to lose a defender and get another layup to drop. Okafor split three defenders on UCLA’s next offensive trip for another successful look at the rim; the Bruins led by 11 at the media timeout.

Aarnisalo sprinted downhill to become the first Bruin in double figures after another layup. She cashed in a triple directly after to secure a game-leading 14 points. Okafor wanted a mid-range jumper of her own and splashed it in to get UCLA’s lead to nine. Bransford went on a 7-0 run that included a 3-pointer from the left corner and a fast-break finish off a leading pass by Aarnisalo.. Fifth year forward Timea Gardiner got a turnaround jumper to fall for her first points of the game; Gardiner had five rebounds in the win.

The Bruins led by 17 heading into the fourth.

Okafor started the scoring in the final frame, connecting on a jumper. Gardiner sunk a triple from the left wing to force a timeout by the Golden Bears early in the final frame. Gardiner picked up right where she left off after the brief break, putting another three on the board. Betts assisted a cutting Bonnie Deas to give the sophomore her first basket for UCLA. Betts then scored to secure her preseason double-double.



Freshman Lina Jerković entered the game and scored her first jump shot that she attempted. Aarnisalo knocked down back-to-back triples to reach 20 points in the preseason exhibition matchup; the Finnish guard then wrapped a pass behind her back to Gardiner, who sunk another triple and pushed UCLA’s lead to 30. The wing pushed the pace and found Okafor, who pump-faked a defender into the air before skying to drop in a layup. She dropped in a mid-range jump shot on the next possession. Muse hit a shot from the charity stripe and gave UCLA its 34-point win.