No. 2 UCLA women win 15th straight, rout No. 8 Iowa
LOS ANGELES — Angela Dugalic observed the overflowing of riches.
A high-IQ player, she noticed the UCLA women’s basketball team truly had six starting-caliber players for five spots.
Dugalic approached head coach Cori Close, suggesting she could come off the bench.
“She came to me,” Close said, describing the early-season interaction. “She goes, ‘I don’t care. I don’t care if I never start a game. I just want to help our team win.’”
On Sunday, she was the primary reason for No. 2 UCLA’s 88-65 victory over No. 8 Iowa. She tied a career-high with 22 points and grabbed a career-high five steals.
With three-and-a-half minutes remaining, huddled in a timeout, Close alerted the Bruins (21-1, 11-0 Big Ten) that Dugalic was three points shy of matching career scoring numbers. Her teammates cheered, but she didn’t give in.
“She goes, ‘I don’t care about that. Just win,’” Close shared.
Her teammates defied her, rewarding her selflessness. Point guard Kiki Rice fed Dugalic, who dribbled into a 3-point shot, increasing her total to 22. Dugalic’s performance epitomized the Bruins’ benevolence and belief in one another.
“What I love about this team, and this win, is that, every game, it’s somebody different,” Close said in the postgame press conference. “This team is willing to celebrate that.”
On Sunday, they empowered one another to earn that enjoyment. They had 29 assists on 37 made field goals. Rice dished seven of them and didn’t commit any turnovers. UCLA continued its rampage through the Big Ten conference, extending its win-streak to 15 with its first victory over a top-10 opponent this season.
A Sunday matinee against an Iowa team trying to avoid a second straight defeat after losing to USC on Thursday seemed like UCLA’s greatest test. The Bruins handled it with ease, dominating the Hawkeyes (18-4, 9-2). They shot 37-of-64 (58%) from the field and were a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
“Just have lethal actions at every position,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said of UCLA in the postgame press conference.
The Hawkeyes, Jansen said, switched gameplans at halftime. They went from giving UCLA’s post players space to clamping down in the paint. The Bruins’ depth forces teams, even as equipped as the Hawkeyes, to pick their battles. On Sunday, that left Dugalic with mismatches and room to operate.
She impressed on both sides from the moment she entered the game. On the first possession after checking in, she stole a pass, sparking a fast-break for Charlisse Leger-Walker. Later in the first quarter, she fought through contact for a 3-point play. She banged a 3-point shot from the top of the key off a pass from Sienna Betts.
With her confidence heightened, she got creative in the paint in the second half. She pump-faked left and spun back right for a three-point play. She cut under the basket and finished a smooth reverse layup.
Iowa started the fourth quarter scoring five straight points. Close called a timeout to remind the Bruins that their selfless leader had the hot hand. Dugalic swished a 3 from the left wing and pulled up for another that might as well have been from Belgrade.
“I’m just really proud and honored and blessed to be on this team,” Dugalic said. “It’s why I stayed a sixth year.”
Close predicted Dugalic would be a first-round pick in April’s WNBA Draft. There’s a chance she would have earned that selection had she declared last year. She opted to return to Westwood, offering to come off the bench. She prioritized the four letters on her chest, rather than the seven on her back.
Her mindset trickled down UCLA’s roster. It lifted the Bruins to a win on Sunday and reverberated back to Dugalic as her teammates ensured that she’d match her career high.