GAMEDAY Womens Basketball
UCLA 67, Sacramento State 45
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES - Kiki Rice had 15 points, Emily Bessoir added 14 and fourth-seeded UCLA rolled to a 67-45 victory over No. 13 seed Sacramento State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charisma Osborne had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Bruins (26-9), who will face fifth-seeded Oklahoma with the winner advancing to the Greenville 1 Regional.
Isnelle Natabou had 16 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento State (25-8). Kahlaijah Dean scored 11 points, but was 3 of 19 from the field.
UCLA jumped out to a 16-2 lead midway through the first quarter on the strength of a 14-0 run. Rice had seven points in the first four minutes and 10 at the end of the first quarter, including a 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining that extended the Bruins' advantage to 23-6.
UCLA also had a 17-point lead at halftime and was up by as many as 24 late in the fourth quarter.
Neither team shot well: UCLA was 29 of 70 while Sacramento State went 17 for 50. The Bruins did outrebound the Hornets by 15 and had a 34-24 edge in points in the paint.
BIG PICTURE
Sacramento State: The Hornets made their first tournament appearance just two years after going 3-22. They won the Big Sky Tournament after finishing in a three-way tie for the regular-season crown.
UCLA: The Bruins have won all seven first-round games in Cori Close's 12 seasons as coach. They are looking to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
March 18, 2023
| Sacramento State | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| I. Natabou | C | 30 | 8-12 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3-10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| K. Dean | G | 35 | 3-19 | 4-4 | 1-6 | 1-6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| J. Olivares | G | 35 | 3-5 | 3-7 | 1-1 | 1-5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| K. Peneueta | G | 33 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| K. Randhawa | G | 28 | 0-5 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Amusan | 22 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| B. Versteeg | 15 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Totals | 198 | 17-50 (.340) |
7-15 (.467) |
4-14 (.286) |
6-32 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 45 | |
| UCLA | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| E. Bessoir | F | 25 | 6-10 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 3-8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| C. Osborne | G | 31 | 5-12 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 3-12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| G. Conti | G | 23 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| K. Rice | G | 22 | 6-11 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| C. Brown | G | 15 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| L. Jones | 24 | 2-9 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| G. Jaquez | 19 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| L. Sontag | 18 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| C. Iwuala | 15 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| B. Masikewich | 6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Totals | 198 | 29-70 (.414) |
3-5 (.600) |
6-22 (.273) |
16-47 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 67 | |
Officials: Infini Robinsom, Scott Osborne, Britton Sherry
