Another game, same result for the UCLA women’s basketball team, who moved to 13-0 on the season after their 91-54 win over Wisconsin on Sunday in the Big Ten home opener.
In addition to the big win, UCLA saw junior center Lauren Betts return to action after missing the previous two games with a leg injury but Betts didn’t miss a beat in her return, scoring 21 points and eight rebounds on 8-15 shooting. Betts led UCLA in scoring with junior Kiki Rice finishing with 18 on 8-8 shooting while adding four steals and six rebounds.
As a team, the Bruins shot 56% in the game, while holding the Cornhuskers to 33%. UCLA is now 2-0 in the Big Ten before the Bruins face Michigan at home on New Year’s Day. Sunday’s win also #300 for Bruins’ head coach Cori Close, the first in program history to reach the feat.
The Bruins didn’t do a great job of taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over 26 times, a season-high for UCLA, with the second-most coming in the first game of the season in France where UCLA had 22 turnovers. Betts had four of the turnovers, junior Londynn Jones had five and freshman Elina Aarnisalo had eight in only 11 minutes of action.
While UCLA struggled with turnovers, they did not struggle on the glass, with the Bruins crushing Nebraska 48-18 on the boards. Entering Sunday’s game, UCLA already owned the best rebounding margin in the country with +19.3 per game, the Bruins had a +30 advantage against Nebraska with the return of Betts helping the cause.