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UCLA women rout Ohio State for Big Ten Tournament showdown with USC

March 9, 2025

The UCLA women’s basketball team needed that one after what has not been the easiest of weeks for the fourth-ranked Bruins.

They had suffered yet another loss to crosstown rival USC for the Big Ten regular-season title last Saturday, followed by the players initiating a let-it-all-out meeting, then opening the conference tournament with a closer-than-expected victory over 10th-seeded Nebraska on Friday.

All that led to an enormous exhale in the form of a 75-46 thumping of Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal Saturday in Indianapolis, setting the stage for a third shot at the Trojans with another trophy on the line.

Londynn Jones found her shooting stroke, hitting 8 of 16 from the field and 6 of 12 3-pointers for a game-high 22 points. Gabriela Jaquez sparked the Bruins early, scoring all 12 of her points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting.

UCLA (29-2) now gets another crack at beating the No. 2 Trojans (28-2), who are responsible for the only blemishes on the Bruins’ record. USC advanced to the tournament final earlier Saturday after pulling away from Michigan for an 82-70 victory.

The Buckeyes came into the game ranked 13th in the country, having lost only four times – two coming during a rough trip to L.A. against UCLA and USC last month – and shooting 45.5% on the season and 34,3% from the 3-point line.

UCLA held Ohio State to 19-of-57 shooting (33.3%) and 3 of 10 from 3-point range. The Bruins, meanwhile, shot 32 of 63 (50.8%) and drilled 11 of 24 (45.8%) 3-pointers, all while racking up a 43-25 rebounding advantage.

The Bruins jumped out to a 22-8 lead after one quarter without star center Lauren Betts scoring, let alone tempting a shot. Instead, Jaquez led seven Bruins in scoring with seven points, as they shot 11 of 15 (73.3%) from the field.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes opened shooting 3 for 14 (21.4%) in the first frame.

In the second quarter, Betts got cooking, cashing two layups for a 29-12 advantage with seven minutes until halftime.

Ohio State closed within 35-21 on a Jaloni Cambridge jumper with 3:09 left in the second quarter, but the Bruins went on a 9-0 run to close the half. Betts added a layup and jumper, followed by a Jones 3-pointer with 43 second left and a 17-footer from Jones just before the buzzer.

The Bruins finished the half 20 of 30 (66.7%) from the floor compared to 9 of 30 (30.0%) for the Buckeyes. Betts had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, finishing the game 6 for 7 for 12 points.

Orange County Register

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UCLA women rout Ohio State for Big Ten Tournament showdown with USC

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