unbeaten

During practice Friday, UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close made it clear she wanted to see more from forward Angela Dugalic.

“You’re not using what you’ve earned,” Close recalled telling her while speaking with reporters Friday.

Dugalic is going to face some of the best players in the country this week. Close thinks she can match up with them, but she needs Dugalic to play like it. With all the work Dugalic has done on her low-post game over the offseason, she can’t settle for floating around the perimeter.

Close won’t let her.

“I just want her to be all she can be,” Close said. “She’s been an animal down there in the low post, and I want her to hunt for that. I don’t want her to settle for playing on the perimeter when she’s got a whole lot more tools in her toolbox that she’s not accessing.”

Close got that version of Dugalic in Sunday’s 88-37 rout of Southern at Pauley Pavilion. The third-ranked Bruins were in full control from whistle to whistle, even pitching a second-quarter shutout, and Dugalic led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and an assist. She shot eight for 15 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers.

It was pure dominance by UCLA. The Bruins shot 51% from the field while holding the Jaguars to 29%. They outrebounded Southern by 30. They forced 13 turnovers, nine in the first half, and scored 28 points off them. And on the offensive end, UCLA was flowing with 24 assists to Southern’s nine.

Gabriela Jaquez added eight rebounds and five assists to go with six points. Her first basket, a layup after cutting through the paint in the second quarter, gave the senior guard her 1,000th career point. Kiki Rice had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Lauren Betts finished with 15 points and six rebounds.

Dugalic opened the scoring for UCLA with a midrange jumper followed by a fast-break layup. She finished the first half with nine points, tied for the team lead with freshman forward Lena Bilic, who finished the game with 14 points.

Despite Dugalic’s strong start, Close issued her another challenge at halftime.

“I just want you to focus on making the right basketball play,” Close said. “What’s the defense doing? I didn’t think she was reading the defense. I thought she shot it well, and I thought she got some great rebounds, but I didn’t think she was in the flow that we’ve been seeing from her the last few days and our last few games.”

Close added that she thinks Dugalić is playing some of the best basketball of her career, and she’s continuously fighting to raise her standard. It’s not about how many points she scores, it’s about her decision making her defense, her consistency.

The Bruins entered that second quarter with a 22-9 lead thanks to a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter after holding Southern (1-4) scoreless during the final three minutes. UCLA then exploded for a 27-0 run in the second quarter while holding the Jaguars scoreless for the entire period. It was the first time the Bruins had held an opponent scoreless for an entire quarter since they achieved the same feat on Dec. 5, 2021 against San José State.

Still, Close wasn’t satisfied.

During halftime, Close said she reminded the Bruins of what they want to accomplish. Close wrote down a list of “passion plays,” or goals for every single player to get in the second half.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice controls the ball in front of Southern forward DeMya Porter during the first half of the Bruins’ win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)

It’s part of a mentality Close is trying to instill in her players. They know a 51-point win against an unranked Southern team isn’t going to give them the feedback they need.

“Outcomes are actually a distraction,” Close said, referencing legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban. “What are the processes that we’re going to be committed to that are going to actually lead us to where we want to go?”

UCLA (6-0) will face No. 4 Texas on Wednesday in the Players Era Women’s Championship in Las Vegas, followed by either No. 2 South Carolina or Duke on Thanksgiving. The Bruins then will host No. 15 Tennessee on Nov. 30.

Spain finish unbeaten at the top of Group E despite being given genuine scare by Turkiye, who will compete in playoffs.

Spain have booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup with a 2-2 draw against Turkiye in their final qualifier to top Group E.

Turkiye finished second on Tuesday and will compete in the playoffs after they became the first team to force Luis de la Fuente’s Euro 2024 champions to drop points.

Dani Olmo fired Spain ahead, but Deniz Gul and Salih Ozcan struck for Turkiye as the hosts conceded their first goals in the qualification process.

Mikel Oyarzabal hit back to equalise in Seville for a Spanish team looking to win football’s biggest prize for the second time.

Spain scored 21 goals in qualifying while conceding just twice and have not tasted defeat in a national record 31 consecutive games.

However, that run includes a 2-2 Nations League final draw with Portugal after extra time in June with Spain losing on penalties.

Turkiye showed de la Fuente’s side are not flawless although Spain were missing several key players, including Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Rodri.

They knew to qualify all they had to do was avoid defeat by a seven-goal margin, which was never on the cards, and might have triumphed if not for some inspired goalkeeping by Manchester United stopper Altay Bayindir.

Marc Cucurella’s cross found Olmo in the box, and he controlled it well to bypass a defender before finishing lethally in the fourth minute.

The Barcelona playmaker twice came close to scoring a second from long range, but Bayindir tipped over both efforts.

Turkiye became the first team to score against Spain in qualifying just before the break when Gul levelled, reacting quickly to flick home a knock-down from a corner.

The visitors came out strongly in the second half and forced Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon into a pair of smart saves before taking the lead.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ozcan rifled home from the edge of the box after Orkun Kokcu had set the ball up nicely for him.

Spain bit back, and Oyarzabal finished from close range after Merih Demiral did brilliantly to block Yeremy Pino’s shot on the line, but it rebounded off another defender nicely for the Real Sociedad forward.

It was Oyarzabal’s sixth goal in a qualifying campaign in which he has staked his claim to being Spain’s starting striker at the World Cup.

Substitute Samu Aghehowa came close as Spain sought a winner, but Bayindir kept out his header and then denied Alex Baena to secure Turkiye an impressive point.

Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez found the net in stoppage time, but his goal was disallowed for offside.

Elsewhere, Scotland scored two dramatic stoppage-time goals to beat 10-man Denmark 4-2 on Tuesday and reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

A 1-1 home draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina was enough for Austria in Group H while Belgium routed Liechtenstein 7-0. Switzerland qualified after a 1-1 draw at Kosovo.

The 12 group winners qualified directly while the runners-up will participate in playoffs along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024-2025 Nations League that did not finish first or second in their groups.

The playoffs will be played on March 26 and March 31.

The World Cup will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.

A rare November storm dumped continuous gallons of rain on players and fans Friday night across Southern California, creating opportunities for underdogs in the quarterfinals of the high school football playoffs.

No one was better prepared for rain than Santa Margarita quarterback Trace Johnson, who played last season in Florida. “Every other game was rain,” he said.

Johnson fired touchdown passes of 33 and 34 yards to sophomore Ryan Clark to help No. 5-seeded Santa Margarita (8-3) hand No. 4-seeded Sierra Canyon (10-1) its first defeat, 21-9, to advance to the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals.

The big stunner of the night was No. 8-seeded Orange Lutheran eliminating No. 1-seeded St. John Bosco 20-19 when the Braves missed an extra point in the final two minutes. Orange Lutheran (3-8) lost to St. John Bosco 48-0 in the regular season. The big play was sophomore King Rich Johnson returning an interception for a touchdown and a 20-13 lead. The Lancers will host Santa Margarita next week at Orange Coast College.

“To go from losing 48-0 to beating a team in the playoffs speaks to their character and continued growth,” Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman said. “Our goal is to play our best football at the end of the year. We don’t make excuses with our young team. We played our best football game of the year. I’m super proud of our guys. They got over the mental block that they can play with anyone in the country.”

The other semifinal will have Mater Dei at Corona Centennial. Centennial defeated Servite 41-6. Mater Dei defeated Mission Viejo 20-0.

Sierra Canyon had never trailed this season, led by a defense considered the best in the region. But Johnson stunned the Trailblazers with his touchdown pass to Clark at the end of the first half for a 7-3 halftime lead. Sierra Canyon scored on its opening possession of the second half to go on top 9-7, but after that, it was Santa Margarita’s defense displaying its dominating form.

Isaia Vandermade sacked Sierra Canyon quarterback Laird Fink twice in the second half. He also batted down a pass attempt. Fink was limited to 92 yards passing. The Eagles had three second-half sacks, with leading tackler Leki Holani making tackle after tackle.

Santa Margarita entered the Division 1 playoffs under first-year coach Carson Palmer having played six of the seven teams in one of the toughest regular-season schedules. Palmer singled out Clark, who’s also the Eagles’ punter.

“He was unbelievable,” Palmer said. “He made plays all night.”

Said Clark: “They were great throws. We practiced good all week.”

Sierra Canyon quarterback Laird Fink throws in the rain.

(Craig Weston)

Sierra Canyon’s Jaxsen Stokes rushed for 106 yards, but lost opportunities in the first half proved costly. The Trailblazers tried three field goals. Carter Sobel made a 34-yard field goal, but he had one blocked and missed from 42 yards. Fink had a pass intercepted in the end zone by Joshua Holani in another huge play for the Eagles.

With seven commits to USC playing on the drenched Sierra Canyon all-weather field and USC Heisman Trophy winner Palmer coaching Santa Margarita, it would have been a perfect time to hire Traveler to take a gallop around the field or borrow the Trojan band to play “Tusk.”

Palmer has certainly made an impact in his first s†int as a high school coach.

“It’s been real fun and it’s still going,” he said.