UCLA Women's Basketball Bests Washington State on the Road
Although the Bruins didn't lead from wire to wire, they retained enough control to emerge with a road win Sunday.
No. 9 UCLA women's basketball (17-3, 6-2 Pac-12) came away with a road sweep after beating Washington State (13-6, 3-5) by a score of 73-66 in Pullman. The matchup went down to the wire, as the Bruins led by just three points with 30 seconds left to go, but they hit their free throws down the stretch to create just enough separation in the waning moments.
It was all hands on deck for UCLA, with five Bruins notching double digit points. Forwards Gabriela Jaquez and Emily Bessoir scored 13 points apiece while hitting multiple 3-pointers, while guards Kiki Rice and Gina Conti each dropped 12 and guard Charisma Osborne scored 10 points.
UCLA opened things up with a 20-12 first quarter, although a 9-0 Washington State run in the second quarter gave the Cougars the lead. Jaquez sank a triple to snatch back the advantage, and Osborne hit a layup just before the halftime buzzer to put the Bruins up 32-30.
Bessoir drilled two 3-pointers early in the third quarter, then Osborne hit two of her own to make it a five-point game.
UCLA stayed up by multiple scores heading into the fourth quarter, and they extended their lead to as many as 11 points after trading free throws for 3-pointers from Bessoir and Conti.
The Bruins' offense went cold, though, missing four shots in a row and going scoreless for nearly four minutes. The Cougars spun that into an 8-0 run, trimming the gap down to three points in the process.
Rice hit a layup to stem the bleeding, only for Washington State to answer with another layup 13 seconds later. UCLA committed a slew of turnovers, not even attempting a shot in the final two minutes of the game, which opened the door for the home team to spark a game-winning run.
The Bruins' defense held the Cougars off the scoreboard from then on out, however, as Washington State missed its final three attempts from the field. UCLA got perfect trips to the free throw line from Osborne and Rice, and they were able to run away with the victory.
UCLA will return to action Friday at Colorado. The showdown, which tips off at 6 p.m., will be televised on Pac-12 Mountain.
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