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No. 1 UCLA women stay focused ahead of 2nd-round test against No. 8 Oklahoma State

March 22, 2026

LOS ANGELES — This is it. The final game at Pauley Pavilion for the six seniors at the core of UCLA women’s basketball. Senior night on Feb. 22 against Wisconsin was treated with such care. But that evening was for the emotions. Monday is all about business.

The No. 1-seeded Bruins (32-1, 18-0 Big Ten) face No. 8-seeded Oklahoma State (24-9, 12-6 Big 12) for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen in Sacramento next weekend. Both teams pulled away from their first-round opponent late in the game as the Bruins allowed No. 16-seeded California Baptist only nine second-half points. The Cowgirls went on a 20-7 run in the fourth quarter to break away from No. 9-seeded Princeton. Then their coaching staff settled into media row to scout their prospective opponent.

“We look at size, matchups, what they run, basically everything,” Oklahoma State women’s head coach Jacie Hoyt told the Southern California News Group.

The Cowgirls are led by the guard duo of senior Micah Gray and sophomore Jadyn Wooten. Achol Akot, 6-foot-1, is the only player who plays 10 minutes per game and is over 6-feet.

Their lack of height could seemingly leave room for UCLA’s size — center Lauren Betts, and reserves Angela Dugalic and Sienna Betts — to feast, but the Bruins can be vulnerable against small-ball as was present in Saturday’s first half.

“Obviously, those kinds of matchups are difficult for us. As big as we are, we couldn’t take advantage of it as much in the first half on offense, and then defensively, it really spreads us out,” head coach Cori Close said about CBU’s small-ball approach, which mimics that of the Cowgirls.

If CBU was able to spread UCLA out, Oklahoma State could expose that further. The Cowgirls average 26.2 3-point shot attempts per game, the 19th most of any women’s college basketball team, connecting on 9.2 per game.

They’re great shooters,” Sienna Betts said of Oklahoma State during Sunday’s media availability. “They have good interior as well. I think we just have to play really connected defense and just play our game.”

“I think that what stands out is (Oklahoma State’s) ability to shoot the 3, their versatility, their work down the tunnel with the high ball screen,” Close said. “They’re extremely good in transition.”

The Bruins countered CBU’s perimeter shooting by turning up their aggression, but it took them a half to do so. They also dominated on the boards, grabbing a season-high 58 rebounds. Now that number was boosted by CBU missing 48 shots, but controlling the glass is a factor UCLA can replicate Monday, and one that could be a difference.

“That’s something we emphasized all week in practice, that we need to be amazing rebounders if we want to get through this tournament,” Lauren Betts said Saturday.

Most importantly, though, is carrying out each of these strategies for the entire 40 minutes. That process starts before tipoff, as Dugalic said UCLA didn’t have its typical level of preparedness during warm-ups, and that carried into Saturday’s game.

UCLA has to be locked from tip to finish if it wants to maximize its final homestand and earn a trip to Sacramento.

Orange County Register

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No. 1 UCLA women stay focused ahead of 2nd-round test against No. 8 Oklahoma State

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