Telepeer

NCAA Tournament: No. 1 UCLA women rout No. 16 California Baptist

March 22, 2026

Guard Gabriela Jaquez #11 of the UCLA Bruins is foulwd by forward Emma Johansson #14 of the California Baptist Lancers in the first half of a women’s NCAA first-round Tournament basketball game at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

1 of 23

Expand

LOS ANGELES — The initial performance in the Big Dance for UCLA women’s basketball certainly didn’t warrant a 10. The first half was full of uncanny mistakes, but the Bruins learned from them, adjusting in the second half, turning up the heat on defense to pull away and beat California Baptist 96-43.

Lauren Betts notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kiki Rice had 18 points, buoyed by a 10-of-10 outing at the free-throw line. Gabriela Jaquez added 16 points.

The one-seeded Bruins (32-1, 18-0 Big Ten) have been here before — hosting an NCAA Tournament regional in Pauley Pavilion — but they seemingly entered Saturday’s game overlooking the 16th-seeded Lancers (23-11, 15-3 Western Athletic Conference).

CBU brought the March magic from Riverside to Westwood. The Lancers led through the first five minutes of Saturday’s game as Filipa Barros connected on a pair of 3-point shots. They benefited from UCLA’s sloppiness as Betts committed a pair of turnovers, earning herself an early seat on the bench at head coach Cori Close’s behest.

Close’s benching motivated Betts as she returned later in the first quarter to score a putback layup, a pair of free throws, and a transition layup that put the Bruins ahead by seven.

Still, the Lancers wouldn’t go away. The Cinderella dream continued when Shawnee Nordstrom banked in a 30-foot shot to beat the shot clock. Chance Bucher came off the bench for CBU and scored 11 points in the second quarter to keep it tight.

The Bruins also couldn’t get out of their own way. Sienna Betts failed to corral a defensive rebound before fouling Grace Schmidt, and then turned the ball over to Schmidt in the backcourt on the ensuing possession.

UCLA did extend its lead to double-digits before the break with a layup from Gabriela Jaquez and a pair of free throws from Kiki Rice.

UCLA started the second half with a 17-2 run, in which every basket came in the paint or at the free-throw line. The genesis was an increase in aggression, and Jaquez led the way. She scored a reverse layup on the opening possession and then created a transition opportunity for Rice.

The pressure continued as UCLA deployed a full-court press and Charlisse Leger-Walker stole CBU’s pass, finding Jaquez, who drew a trip to the line.

Kneepkens ran around a flurry of screens for a corner 3-pointer on a baseline out-of-bounds play, Betts dropped in a layup, and then found Lena Bilic in the corner to extend the lead to 35. Ultimately, UCLA outscored CBU 31-4 in the third quarter, asserting its dominance.

Sienna Betts was the go-to option in the fourth quarter, scoring on a pair of postups and grabbing offensive rebounds. Leger-Walker hit her second 3-pointer of the game. But it was the Bruins’ defense, which held the Lancers to nine second-half points, that shut the door and ensured UCLA would keep tangoing on in March.

NCAA Tournament: No. 1 UCLA women rout No. 16 California Baptist Orange County Register

News Details

NCAA Tournament: No. 1 UCLA women rout No. 16 California Baptist

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS