Gabriela Jaquez, No. 3 UCLA crush Purdue for 12th straight win

LOS ANGELES — Angela Dugalić traced the cross with her hands before pointing to the sky. The graduate student forward jostled Coach Cori Close before placing her hands together in a prayer symbol. She was begging her coach to review an out-of-bounds call with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The ball had bounced off Dugalić, officials deemed. However, after a nearly 2½-minute delay in play, during which the Serbian international patiently waited by her coach for the call to be reversed, Purdue retained possession of the ball.

Third-ranked UCLA lost a 30-second timeout as a penalty, as well as its challenge – new to the 2025-2026 season – for the rest of the game. Perhaps against No. 7 Michigan or No. 10 Iowa, losing a challenge could have made late-game drama even more tense without the ability to review a close call.

Against Purdue on Wednesday night, however, UCLA already led comfortably when Dugalić placed her palms on her head in disbelief when the Bruins parted with their challenge; the 6-foot-4 post player profusely apologized to her coach on the sidelines.

Close shrugged in response. UCLA (18-1 overall, 8-0 Big Ten) didn’t have to worry about an upset alert, nor down-to-the-wire basketball, easily dispatching Purdue, 96-48, at sparsely-filled Pauley Pavilion to remain undefeated in Big Ten play and extend its win streak to a dozen games. The 48-point victory was UCLA’s largest in conference play, and the Bruins moved into sole position of first place ahead of idle Iowa.

“I did have confidence that we were going to probably win the game,” Close said of the challenge. “It was more important to meet the Ange in that moment than it was to have the perfect challenge.”

Close added that it was the first challenge she had lost this season, adding that she’s still learning the art form of when and when not to risk a review.

Across a 16-0 run that started at the end of the first quarter and bled into the second, senior guard Kiki Rice scored seven points – including a 3-pointer to make it 30-8. Rice finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Five Bruins scored in double figures, with senior guard Gabriela Jaquez leading the way with 25 points. Most of the Camarillo native’s scoring came in the fourth quarter when she had 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting (Jaquez shot 10 for 11 overall).

“I think when you get in a rhythm, see the ball go in the basket a couple times, you feel it,” Jaquez said. “I kind of just felt it – had a good rhythm tonight.”

Close credited Jaquez’s active hands – one of four Bruins to record three steals on Wednesday, leading to 23 turnovers from Purdue – as the catalyst for her offensive skill set.

“She’s ‘All-gas Gabs,’” Close said. “That’s what we call her, right? I just think she’s just added more skill and consistency, but it’s always going to be ‘All-gas Gabs.’”

Lauren Betts recorded another double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds), her eighth of the season and fourth in her past five games.

UCLA had averaged a 24-point margin of victory in Big Ten games so far this season. By halftime on Wednesday, the Bruins were leading by 26 over the Boilermakers (10-9, 2-6).

Purdue clawed back into the game in the third quarter, starting the period on an 11-4 run to momentarily clip UCLA’s lead back under 20. But across the rest of the quarter, the Bruins bruised their way back into control, closing with an 18-7 run that included graduate guard Charlisse Leger-Walker sinking a pair of 3-pointers in a 40-second span.

The Bruins shot 53.7% from the field and 59.1% from behind the arc. UCLA held Purdue to 33.3% shooting, while Boilermakers guard Nya Smith led her team with 14 points.

“It’s just really hard for the teams to guard us when they’re so focused on double-teams, triple-teams, and we have such threats on the perimeter,” Betts said. “I’m just glad they’re all on my team.”

It only made sense that on a night when Close and the Bruins honored John Wooden – donning throwback UCLA jerseys with the four letters showcased vertically against the white fabric – the Bruins displayed a level of dominance popularized in Pauley Pavilion in the late 1960s and early 1970s.