Lauren Betts shot 15-for-16 from the floor on the way to 31 points as top-seeded UCLA pulled away from No. 5 Ole Miss in the second half of a 76-62 win in Spokane 1 Region play in Spokane, Wash., on Friday.
Betts delivered her second consecutive 30-point-plus performance of the NCAA Tournament, doing so while matching the career high for made field goals she set in November against Colgate.
Behind Betts’ dominant performance on the inside, UCLA (33-2) outscored Ole Miss (22-11) in the paint 48-34. Betts also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots, doing her part to help UCLA hold Ole Miss to just 32.4 percent shooting from the floor.
The Bruins went nearly the first five minutes of the opening quarter without allowing a field goal and held the Rebels to two made shots from the floor in their first 15 attempts.
Despite a sluggish offensive start, Ole Miss battled back to trail UCLA by just one point at halftime. The Rebels capitalized on 19 Bruins turnovers over the course of the game, converting them into 17 points.
Eight of those came in the first half, giving Ole Miss its most reliable offense in an otherwise anemic stretch.
The Bruins took control in the third quarter, however, going on a 12-2 run coming out of intermission.
Kiki Rice assisted Londynn Jones on a 3-pointer to start the run, then Rice scored back-to-back buckets — first at the rim then on a 3-pointer of her own assisted by Betts.
Rice finished with 13 points and dished a game-high seven assists.
UCLA’s burst coming out of the locker room gave it a double-digit lead that the Bruins maintained for much of the rest of the night. The Bruins pushed the advantage to as many as 19 points down the stretch.
Tameiya Sadler led Ole Miss with 14 points, while Kennedy Todd-Williams and KK Deans each scored 13. Todd-Williams and Christeen Iwuala each grabbed nine rebounds.
With the win, UCLA will face No. 3 LSU on Sunday after the Tigers held off North Carolina State earlier in the night. The Bruins are seeking their first-ever trip to the Final Four.
–Field Level Media
