lauren betts

LINCOLN, Neb. — Lauren Betts scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds to help No. 4 UCLA to an 83-61 win over No. 25 Nebraska on Sunday.

Betts also added four blocks and five steals for the Bruins (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten).

UCLA used an 11-2 first quarter run to take control of the game and stretched its lead to 35-20 on Gianna Kneepkens’ three-pointer with 2:21 remaining in the first half.

Nebraska (14-3, 3-3) cut the deficit to 10 on Jessie Petrie’s layup that opened the second half scoring. But the Huskers could get no closer the rest of the way.

Sienna Betts’ layup with 4:03 left in the third period pushed the lead to 52-32. UCLA’s largest lead was 27 late in the game.

Five other Bruins joined Lauren Betts in double figures: Kneepkens finished with 16 points, Charlisse Leger-Walker had 14 points, Sienna Betts and Kiki Rice had 12 points each, and Gabriela Jaquez had 11.

The taller, more physical Bruins dominated Nebraska defensively and on the boards. The Bruins stifled Nebraska’s shooters, who hit just 38% of their shots and 33% from three, and held the Huskers 24 points below their 85 points per game season average.

UCLA outrebounded 43-28 and turned 16 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points.

Amilia Hargrove scored 12 points to lead Nebraska. Logan Nissey had 11 for the Huskers, and Jessica Petrie, Callin Hake and Eliza Maupin had 10 points each.

Four of five starters scored in double digits as the UCLA women’s basketball team dominated crosstown rival USC 80-46 Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in the first of two meetings between the crosstown rivals.

Center Lauren Betts paced the fourth-ranked Bruins (14-1 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Gianna Kneepkens had 15 points and Kiki Rice added 14 points and eight assists.

The Bruins totaled 24 assists and out-rebounded the Trojans 46-26.

Kara Dunn scored 11 points for No. 17 USC (10-4, 2-1).

“Thank you to the crowd for showing up on a rainy day — we appreciate the support,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We did a great job on the boards. We didn’t play our best basketball. There’s still room to grow, but we held them to 27% shooting. Our defense was better than our offense today. We have a high ceiling. I’d like to see more consistency and for us to keep getting closer to our standard.”

USC guard Londynn Jones, right, tries to drive past UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez during the first half Saturday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was not pleased by what she saw from the Trojans.

“Obviously, this is not where we want to be in a game like this,” she said. “Everything from disappointment to embarrassment, but we own it. They were the better team today. They were better by a lot.”

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Lauren Betts scored 25 points and surpassed 1,500 career points in leading No. 4 UCLA to a 97-61 rout of Penn State on Wednesday.

Gianna Kneepkens added 17 points, Kiki Rice scored 16 and Sienna Betts 10 for the Bruins (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten), who won their seventh in a row after leading for all but 31 seconds.

The Bruins, who entered averaging just over 95 points per game since their lone loss to the No. 2 Texas Longhorns on Nov. 27, found their offense immediately inside a quiet Rec Hall.

Lauren Betts finished 11 for 19 from the floor. She sunk a layup in the opening seconds to spark the first of a handful of lopsided runs for the Bruins.

Kneepkens and Rice added back-to-back three-pointers moments later before Kneepkens hit another long ball to put UCLA up 13-2 less than three minutes in.

Penn State (7-7, 0-3) responded with a pair of buckets, but Kneepkens drained her third three-pointer of the quarter and UCLA closed out the first on a 14-5 run shooting 58% from the floor.

The rout was on from there for the Bruins, who led by as many as 37 with 6:41 in the fourth quarter. They led 46-23 at halftime.

Gracie Merkle had 15 points and Kiyomi McMiller scored 13 for Penn State, which fell to 1-15 against AP top 10 teams since coach Carolyn Kieger’s first season in 2019.

Up next UCLA: vs. No. 17 USC at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Lauren Betts had 18 points and 16 rebounds as No. 4 UCLA extended its winning streak to six games with an 82-75 win over No. 19 Ohio State on Sunday.

Kiki Rice added 16 points and Angela Dugalic scored 15 as UCLA (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the Buckeyes for the fourth straight time, dating to December 2023.

Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 28 points, and Elsa Lemmila added 13 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State (11-2, 1-1) which had its nine-game winning streak halted in its conference home opener.

The Bruins built a 76–60 lead midway through the fourth quarter before Ohio State closed the gap behind strong defense and key late baskets from Cambridge, T’yana Todd and Chance Gray. The Buckeyes closed within six points with about two minutes remaining, but got no closer.

UCLA outrebounded Ohio State 47–33, including a 19–10 edge on the offensive end that led to a 35–10 advantage in second-chance points. Betts anchored the Bruins in the paint as UCLA outscored the Buckeyes 50–32 inside.

Ohio State struggled from three-point range in the first half, missing its first 11 attempts before Lemmila connected with 3:43 left in the second quarter. The Buckeyes found some rhythm in the third quarter, hitting six three-pointers, and finished seven of 30 (23%) from beyond the arc.

Up next for UCLA: at Penn State on Wednesday.