FILE — UCLA guard Londynn Jones (3), guard Kiki Rice, center Lauren Betts (51) and guard Charisma Osborne celebrate on the bench during an NCAA college basketball game against Hawaii Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. Jones scored a career-high 23 points and Betts added 14 in a win over Utah on Thursday.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Associated Press
No. 18 Utah never stood a chance in its matchup with No. 12 UCLA on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion, and that began with a poor start.
The Bruins hit their first five shots to take a 12-0 lead just over two minutes into the game, and from there, UCLA simply dominated the visitors in a lopsided 82-52 victory.
Londynn Jones scored six of her career-high 23 points on a pair of early 3-pointers, while 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts got going with a pair of early buckets as UCLA made a matchup of top 20 teams look anything but competitive.
Utah didn’t help itself, turning the ball over a season-high-tying 20 times, which led to 26 Bruins points.
Five of those turnovers came in the first quarter, as UCLA built a 25-15 lead through one frame.
Utah had a chance to cut into an eight-point deficit a couple of different times in the second quarter, but the Utes couldn’t capitalize and UCLA ended the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 14-point lead into intermission.
UCLA then broke the game open in the third period, outscoring Utah 20-9 in the quarter.
The Utes made just 2 of 16 shots from the field in the third before the Bruins wrapped up the victory by outscoring Utah 23-18 in the final period.
The Utes looked out of sorts offensively all night, shooting 32.1% from the floor and tying a season low with eight assists.
Utah only made 3 of 15 3-pointers after hitting 13 of 28 in a win over then-No. 2 UCLA at the Huntsman Center last month.
The Utes were 1 of 6 from long range in the first half.
The Bruins, meanwhile, hit 9 of 23 3-pointers, most of those coming on a career-high seven from Jones.
UCLA shot 49.2% from the floor overall.
The Utes also played a fair amount of time without one of their top players, Jenna Johnson, who took an elbow to the head going for a rebound just over six minutes into the game and had an almost 2-inch gash that required stitches, according to the ESPN broadcast.
Johnson returned in the third quarter, but by then, UCLA was in full control.
Johnson had helped neutralize Betts in the teams’ previous matchup, when the Bruins center had seven points but five turnovers.
On Thursday night, though, Betts finished with 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting, while adding six rebounds and three blocks.
Charisma Osborne and Kiki Rice also scored in double figures, adding 13 points each for UCLA.
Alissa Pili ended up with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Utah. Though she shot 5 of 13 from the field, Pili made 10 of 10 free throws and passed the 2,000-point career mark early in the game.
Kennady McQueen also scored in double figures, putting up 11 points — all in the first half — on a night the Utes struggled to get anything going offensively outside of her, Pili and Ines Vieira (six points, three assists).
A couple other stats that show off the Bruins’ dominance? UCLA had a 17-4 edge in fast break points and a 26-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
What’s next?
The Utes (19-8, 9-6 Pac-12) will stay on the road and finish up a two-game Los Angeles trip by playing No. 7 USC on Sunday (1 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Network).
The Trojans are hosting No. 11 Colorado on Friday.
Utah will then wrap up the regular season with home games against Washington State and Washington next week.