LOS ANGELES – No. 11 UCLA Women’s Basketball won its battle against UC Irvine with a commanding 36-point win. The Bruins secured the 78-42 victory without allowing the Anteaters to score in the final frame inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. 

Sophomore Sienna Betts scored a career-high 17 points for the Bruins off an efficient 8-of-10 shooting night and finished with four rebounds. Fifth year guard KK Bransford had 10 points and four steals in the effort. Fifth year senior Timea Gardiner found her groove, pouring in 12 points, while also adding two 3-pointers, five rebounds, a block and a steal. UC Irvine’s Delaney White had 12 points and finished as the Anteaters’ leading scorer.

The Bruins locked in defensively, causing 20 turnovers for the Anteaters. UCLA finished with 11 steals, and the Bruins had a 50-34 advantage on the boards. UCLA held the Anteaters to 14-of-59 from the field (23.7 FG%) after a scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Junior guard Elina Aarnisalo had an all-around game for the Bruins, putting up 14 points with five rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Donovyn Hunter stuffed the stat sheet with six points, five assists and five rebounds. 

The Bruins started off the first quarter strong on the defensive end; they tallied six steals as a team and caused eight turnovers. Freshman Somto Okafor picked up where she left off last game with three steals in the first. UCLA took a 23-8 lead to end the first quarter while holding UC Irvine to 3-of-13 shooting from the field. 

Gardiner got the ball rolling in the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key. She led the first half with a team-high 10 points. Betts followed her with an efficient 4-of-5 shooting to end the half with eight points. 

UCLA went into the break with a 42-21 advantage.

UCLA’s defensive effort was felt in the beginning of the third quarter. The Bruins caused three turnovers to start off the half; two of those steals led to layups by Bransford. Aarinsalo got off to a hot start with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and dished out a sweet no-look pass to Gardiner on the break.

The Bruins remained steady in the fourth and had a rejuvenated effort on the glass. Sophomore Bonnie Deas and senior Addy Brown combined to grab eight rebounds in the fourth and connected on two assists to each other. The defensive effort remained strong until the final buzzer as the Bruins did not allow a single field goal throughout the fourth quarter. 

UP NEXT: vs. Arizona (Nov. 12)
The Bruins return to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial against Arizona. The game will tip off 7:30 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network.