In the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic on Friday night, No. 1 UCLA defeated Creighton 70-41 without the help of star player Lauren Betts, thanks to 20 points from Kiki Rice.
The Bruins (12-0, 1-0 Big Ten) had their second double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds from Angela Dugalic, whose tenacious defense made Creighton’s best shooters uneasy.
The Bluejays (9-3, 1-0 Big East) lost their eight-game winning streak, led by 15 points from Morgan Maly.
On December 14, the 6-foot-7 Betts missed her second consecutive game due to a leg injury she suffered against Long Beach State. Her averages of 19.8 points and 10.0 rebounds are team-high.
Lauren Jensen, the leading scorer for Creighton, entered the game averaging 19.1 points per game but was restricted to four points on 2-of-15 shooting.
Takeaways
Creighton: Creighton finished 5 of 22 from beyond the arc after going 1 for 13 in the first quarter and missing all five of its three-pointers, which caused them to quickly fall behind. After losing to UCLA 67-63 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, the Bluejays are now 0-4 in the series.
UCLA: Rice had four assists, five rebounds, and an 8 for 13 shooting percentage. During her first 12 games in college, rookie guard Elina Aarnisalo climbed her team-leading assist total to 63.
Key moment
In the first quarter, UCLA shot 11 for 22 and made 4 of 6 3-pointers to take a 26-4 advantage.
Key stat
UCLA led 42-23 at the half after holding a decisive 59-26 rebounding advantage and 29-12 in the first half. Janiah Barker took eleven.
Up next
Creighton travels to St. John’s on December 28 while UCLA hosts Nebraska on December 29.
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