ucla woman

Times columnist Mirjam Swanson is right. Bam Adebayo is an impostor. If ever there was justification for an asterisk next to a record, his illegitimate assault on a scoring record is it. It was contrived and shameful.

Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo

Agree with Times columnist Mirjam Swanson, Bam Adebayo’s a fraud! It was a total setup once he got close to Kobe’s record-setting 81 points. Both teams … the Heat and the Wizards … conspired with their flopping and intentional fouling to get him to 83. Is this what the NBA has sunk to? Shame, shame.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, while impressive, appeared to be a sloppy affair comparable to an All-Star game full of dunks and threes. His field-goal percentage was under 50%. He shot 43 free throws. which was somewhat of an NBA disgrace. Kobe’s 81 took place in a game that was close most of the way, meant getting into a playoff spot, and demonstrated Kobe’s artistry in a majestic display of the entire offensive arsenal he worked so hard to perfect. He was a maestro and savant. I feel like he has been soiled.

Dell Franklin
Cayucos

There has already been much complaining about Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, complaining that his teammates fed him the ball hoping that he would surpass Kobe’s single-game total of 81. Those of us of a certain age know that the exact same thing happened when Wilt scored 100 in 1962. Perhaps the thing to do is not to look to diminish this effort, but to appreciate it for the accomplishment it is. Congratulations to Bam.

Ronald O. Richards
Los Angeles

Sunday marked Senior Night for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.

Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.

Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.

It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 16 times.

Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.

Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with a game-high 20 points for the Bruins while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.

UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA (28-1, 18-0) held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC (17-12, 9-9) shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.

UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.

USC opened the second half on an 11-2 run.

The No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball team beat Wisconsin 80-60 on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. Lauren Betts recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds — including three in quick succession in the fourth quarter — as the Bruins celebrated their six graduates on Senior Day by winning their 21st game in a row. Five Bruins — all seniors — scored in double digits.

Gabriela Jaquez had 14 points and six rebounds in the first half for the Bruins, while the Badgers’ leading scorer, Dorja Zaja, had 10 points in the first half and 16 on the game.

While Jaquez led the way in the first half, Betts took over in the second, with a double-double in the second half alone.

After jumping out to a 14-4 lead just over three minutes into the game, UCLA (27-1 overall, 17-0 in the Big Ten) was held scoreless from the field for nearly five minutes, until a Betts basket ended the drought. Wisconsin (13-15, 5-12) cut the lead in half to 16-11 during that stretch, but UCLA extended it to 25-15 to end the first quarter.

The Badgers committed six fouls in the first quarter and the Bruins capitalized for seven points from the free-throw line.

Wisconsin held nearly even with UCLA on the scoreboard in the second quarter (15-14), while leading the rebound game 12-9.

The Badgers scored the first five points of the third quarter to tighten the gap to seven, but the Bruins took control from there and led 65-49 by the end of the quarter.

The Bruins won the fourth quarter 15-11, and they took time for the crowd to honor their seniors as the quarter came to a close.

UCLA has one remaining game in the regular season, against USC on March 1.