LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team rolled to an 84-55 win over California Baptist on Saturday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament without star center Lauren Betts.
UCLA moves on to play No. 7 Creighton, which beat UNLV 87-73, on Monday at Pauley Pavilion in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the Regional 2 in Albany.
The Bruins were playing without Betts, a 6-foot-7 center, who was with the team but wearing street clothing for the game. Betts was seen at practice on Wednesday with her foot/ankle wrapped and elevated but appeared to be walking without difficulty on Saturday.
Four Bruins reached double-digit scoring totals. Charisma Osborne nearly had a triple-double of 15 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists and Kiki Rice led the team in scoring with 20 points. Gabriela Jaquez added 19 points and Londynn Jones scored 12 points.
Angela Dugalić won the opening tip and hit a three for the first points of the game. Londynn Jones followed up with a 3-pointer of her own as the Lancers struggled to get settled in their NCAA Tournament debut.
The Bruins took off on an 8-0 scoring run before California Baptist’s Kinsley Barrington went in for a layup. Barrington led her team with 16 points and Nae Nae Calhoun contributed 12 points.
California Baptist’s defense spread UCLA out and forced them to make just 4-of-17 shots from beyond the arc in the first half. The efforts of Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez kept the Bruins out front with 13 and seven points, respectively, in the first half.
Dugalić made a 3-pointer with a minute left in the opening quarter and Cam Brown came up with a big block with 37 seconds left to close out the frame with a 17-8 advantage.
CBU used a 9-0 scoring run that lasted nearly three minutes to get within three points of tying the game in the second quarter at 24-21. Charisma Osborne dished the ball to Rice for a 3-pointer and the pair made two free throws apiece to keep UCLA out front.
California Baptist was making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in Division I after previously competing as a Division II school. Lancer fans packed the stands after three rooter buses had brought in 1,400 CBU faithful.
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Jaquez knocked down a 3-pointer to start the third quarter as UCLA started strong. The Lancers’ six-point run gave them some momentum, but couldn’t get them close to tying the game.
Londynn Jones was helped off the court and was in visible lower-body pain with 1:21 left in the quarter, but returned to the court after getting looked at by trainers during a timeout.
UCLA pushed the tempo in the final minutes of the game and even made some unconventional plays at times. Osborne appeared to release the ball for a shot, then batted the ball volleyball-style to Dugalić for a 3-pointer with 7:45 remaining on the clock.
The Lancers battled to the end and maintained their gritty, transition style of play. Barrington and Calhoun both sank threes before time expired to close out California Baptist’s inaugural tournament appearance.