A new year ushered in something different for the UCLA women’s basketball team.

A serious challenge.

Unable to pull away from Michigan like they had against other opponents in recent blowout victories, the Bruins found themselves leading by only seven points entering the fourth quarter.

The restlessness in the Pauley Pavilion crowd finally dissipated when UCLA guard Londynn Jones spotted up for one three-pointer after another, helping the Bruins avert an unhappy start to 2025.

Jones’ three three-pointers in the fourth quarter sparked a late surge that gave top-ranked UCLA an 86-70 victory over No. 24 Michigan on Wednesday afternoon.

The Bruins made their final eight shots, rolling off a 9-0 run at one point and keeping things from getting any more tense. Jones’ success from long range helped her finish with nine of her 13 points in the final quarter, when UCLA (14-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) made 11 of 15 shots and four of six three-pointers.

“I thought Londynn was excellent in terms of her ability to stretch the zone,” UCLA coach Cori Close said, “and we finally got her some good teamwork shots with that and I thought she was a huge response for us.”

UCLA guard Londynn Jones, center, drives to the basket against Michigan guards Mila Holloway, left, and Olivia Olson during the first half Wednesday.

(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)

In another strong across-the-board showing, UCLA point guard Kiki Rice finished with 16 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals. Dominating in the paint nearly every time she touched the ball, Bruins center Lauren Betts logged a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocks and two steals.

Close was unhappy with the fight her team showed against an opponent that often proved to be more scrappy than the Bruins.

“I thought they out-toughed us tonight and we may have more talent pieces and may have won the game, but they won the toughness, togetherness battle and I told our team we didn’t win enough teamwork plays — transition D, 50-50s, rebounding, executing the scouting report, bench energy,” Close said. “It wasn’t one of our better games, so we have an immense amount of talent but we have to decide whether we want to win individual games or we want to become a championship team and that’s a decision we have to make right away.”

The Bruins were in a sharing mood, collecting 29 assists on their 35 baskets while shooting 55.6%. They also took care of the ball much better than they did against Nebraska last weekend, when they had 26 turnovers. They committed only 15 turnovers against the Wolverines (10-4, 1-2).

Forwards Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalić each scored 12 points for UCLA, which outrebounded the Wolverines by five and forced them into 17 turnovers.

Freshman guard Syla Swords finished with 30 points for Michigan, which shot 40.9% and made only five of 19 three-pointers (26.3%).

A cold spell for the Bruins repeatedly allowed Michigan to get out in transition for three consecutive layups that pulled the Wolverines to within 52-45 late in the third quarter, prompting UCLA coach Cori Close to call timeout. Almost everything else went the Bruins’ way the rest of the game.

UCLA’s 40-29 halftime lead came courtesy of excellent ball movement, the Bruins logging 16 assists on their 17 baskets. In addition to Rice, who tallied five assists to that point, Betts had four assists, including three to Jaquez for layups.

Swords, returning from a lower leg injury that had kept her out of the Wolverines’ recent loss to USC, propped up her team with 18 points by the game’s midpoint. She didn’t get much support, only two other Michigan players scoring.

Coming off the shakiest game of her career — an eight-turnover, two-assist, two-point showing against Nebraska — UCLA freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo appeared determined to reverse her fortunes in the early going. She found Rice for a layup on the game’s opening possession and shortly thereafter made an entry pass to Betts in the post for a layup.

When Aarnisalo rose for a three-pointer the next time her team got the ball, the Bruins held an 11-2 lead and Michigan was forced to call timeout. The Wolverines ran off nine consecutive points to pull into a tie before the Bruins’ passing prowess eventually helped them forge a 28-17 lead midway through the second quarter when Jaquez scored off a pass from Betts on a give-and-go layup. Aarnisalo finished with six points, three assists and a steal.

Continuing her pursuit of improvement, Close said she was happy her players must travel to face Indiana on Saturday because it will make them take stock of their ambitions.

“I think it’s going to force us to be like, you want to keep winning?” Close said. “You better buck up because you go into Bloomington with that level of urgency and concentration [that UCLA showed against the Wolverines], we’re going to get beat.

“We need to come in not just doing the scout and checking the box but dominating the scout. As you can tell, I’m fired up about this because I do not want this team to settle because of a lack of character and this conference is going to reveal [it] and I just hope our players do the work so that they like what it shows.”