Four of five starters scored in double digits as the UCLA women’s basketball team dominated crosstown rival USC 80-46 Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in the first of two meetings between the crosstown rivals.
Center Lauren Betts paced the fourth-ranked Bruins (14-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Gianna Kneepkens had 15 points and Kiki Rice added 14 points and eight assists.
The Bruins totaled 24 assists and out-rebounded the Trojans 46-26.
Kara Dunn scored 11 points for No. 17 USC (10-4, 2-1).
“Thank you to the crowd for showing up on a rainy day — we appreciate the support,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We did a great job on the boards. We didn’t play our best basketball. There’s still room to grow, but we held them to 27% shooting. Our defense was better than our offense today. We have a high ceiling. I’d like to see more consistency and for us to keep getting closer to our standard.”
USC guard Londynn Jones, right, tries to drive past UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez during the first half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was not pleased by what she saw from the Trojans.
“Obviously, this is not where we want to be in a game like this,” she said. “Everything from disappointment to embarrassment, but we own it. They were the better team today. They were better by a lot.”
