WOMENS BASKETBALL

UCLA 53, Colorado 45

BETH HARRIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES - Kiki Rice had 20 points and nine rebounds, Charisma Osborne added 14 and No. 8 UCLA defeated 13th-ranked Colorado 53-45, moving the Bruins into a three-way tie for second in the Pac-12.

Newly returned to the top 10 in the AP rankings, the Bruins (22-5, 11-5) blew a 12-point, first-half lead before recovering in the third behind their two guards.

Scoreless in the first half, Quay Miller ignited a 13-2 run for the Buffaloes to open the third, capped by Tameiya Sadler’s steal and basket for a 32-31 lead, their first of the game. The Bruins committed seven turnovers in seven minutes.

Londynn Jones came in and scored five in a row, Rice made two free throws and Osborne scored to send UCLA into the fourth leading 40-35.

Lauren Betts, whose field-goal percentage leads Division I, was scoreless until the fourth, when her basket extended UCLA’s lead to 44-35. Her two points tied a season low. She averages a team-leading 15.5 points.

The Buffs closed to 46-43 on five straight points by Aaronette Vonleh.

Both teams then went cold, combining to go 0 for 20 during a nearly 10-minute stretch that finally ended with Osborne’s 3-pointer, keeping UCLA ahead 49-43.

Rice stole the ball and scored with 17 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Jaylyn Sherrod had 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in the closing seconds for the Buffs (20-7, 10-6). Miller and Frida Formann had nine points each.

The Bruins outscored the Buffs 17-7 in the first quarter with Colorado missing 11 of 13 shots from the floor.

Colorado scored the first eight points of the second to close within two. But the Bruins answered with 12 straight points by Osborne and Rice to lead 29-19 at the break.

BIG PICTURE

Colorado: Two weeks ago, the Buffs were projected as one of four top seeds in the NCAA Tournament by the selection committee. Now, they’ve dropped four in a row and fallen into a two-way tie for third in the league.

UCLA: The Bruins are expected to host early round games in the NCAA Tournament, so their six seniors will be back at Pauley Pavilion before season’s end.

February 26, 2024