Lauren Betts powers UCLA past Washington to clinch a share of Big Ten title

LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team rolled past another Big Ten opponent, but it didn’t match the dominant performances the Bruins have grown accustomed to.

UCLA beat Washington, 82-67, on Thursday night, but the Bruins let the Huskies hang around far longer than they should have before closing out the win to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Bruins (26-1 overall, 16-0 Big Ten) can win the title outright with a victory over visiting Wisconsin on Sunday.

Lauren Betts led the Bruins with 23 points and eight rebounds. Gianna Kneepkens scored 17 points, shooting 7 for 9 from the field. Kiki Rice added 13 points, and Charlisse Leger-Walker dished out eight assists.

For much of the game, UCLA treated it like a practice, experimenting with offensive sets and full-court press looks. But lapses of focus disrupted that process.

With 4.1 seconds left in the first half, Amanda Muse underthrew Betts on a cross-court inbound pass and Washington’s Hannah Stines intercepted the toss. Head coach Cori Close shrugged in disbelief, stunned that Muse couldn’t hit the tallest target on the court, in the 6-foot-7 Betts, frustrated that the Bruins couldn’t execute a simple play.

Close’s angst was further directed at a sequence of errors UCLA committed, allowing Washington (19-8, 9-7) to end the first half on a 9-4 run. Betts forced a baseline jump shot. Leger-Walker rushed a 3-point shot. Washington’s Teagen Brown slipped behind the Bruins’ defense for an easy layup. Leger-Walker turned it over, and Muse threw the ball away.

To that point, the Bruins had been dominant. They had assists on 10 of their 13 made baskets and scored 22 points in the paint.

Those lapses outweighed the greatness.

To help reset, UCLA held one of its patented honesty circles before the start of the second half. The Bruins responded with a quick six points. Rice found Betts inside. Gabriela Jaquez forced a missed shot with timely help-side defense, before kicking it ahead to Rice. Then Leger-Walker stole a pass and found Betts for another basket.

Betts blocked Byrnn McGaughy’s jump shot, kicked ahead to Rice, who found Kneepkens for a 3-pointer.

UCLA unleashed a full-court press toward the end of the third quarter. A trap in the corner forced a Huskies timeout. Washington’s Chloe Briggs turned the ball over coming out of that break. Then after a pair of Jaquez free throws, Rice stepped in front of Briggs’ next inbound pass, stealing it and drawing a foul.

The Bruins extended their lead in the fourth quarter. Leger-Walker navigated a double-team late in the shot clock, finding Kneepkens for a 3-pointer. Rice went coast-to-coast, scooping a left-handed layup.

More to come on this story.