By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close knows a layup when she sees one.
Lauren Betts finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes Tuesday night and Timea Gardiner added 16 points off the bench as top-ranked UCLA never trailed in an 83-49 rout of Purdue. With the win, the Bruins matched the best start in program history. They began the 2019-20 season with 16 consecutive wins too.
Close’s team roared to a 25-point halftime lead and she gave her starters plenty of rest with Jones logging the most minutes (25) in the Bruins’ second game in four days in Indiana. UCLA pulled off a rare double by beating Purdue and Indiana on their home courts to remain a perfect 16-0 (5-0 Big Ten).
Destini Lombard scored 16 points to lead the Boilermakers (7-8, 0-4). Rashunda Jones and McKenna Layden each had eight points for Purdue.
But it was never really close. UCLA scored the first 13 points and kept the Boilermakers at arm’s length the rest of the night at a venue that features a statue of former Purdue All-American and UCLA men’s basketball coach John Wooden and his Pyramid of Success.
The Bruins forced Purdue coach Katie Gearlds to burn her first timeout just 97 seconds into the game, down 10-0. It didn’t help. Purdue trailed 29-15 after one quarter and never recovered from the early onslaught.
UCLA outscored Purdue 40-12 in the paint, which explained the big discrepancy in the field goal percentages – the Bruins shot 53.2% while holding Purdue to 33.3%.
UCLA led 44-19 at halftime and by as much as 37 points in the second half.
Gardiner shot 6 for 8 from the field (4 for 5 from 3-point range) in her best game since November. Kiki Rice and Janiah Barker each added 11 points for the Bruins, while Elina Aarnisalo had a team-high seven assists off the bench.
Close couldn’t have scripted a better trip for her team. They beat the Hoosiers by double digits on Saturday, attended an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, then was able to give her starters a well-deserved break Tuesday night and even avoided getting caught in this week’s snowstorm.
UP NEXT
UCLA returns home to play Northwestern on Sunday at 2 p.m.