UCLA Women's Basketball Adds Signature Road Win Over Oregon
High-scoring performances from Charisma Osborne and Kiki Rice led the Bruins to knock off their first-ranked conference opponent of the campaign.
No. 10 UCLA women's basketball (13-1, 2-0 Pac-12) never took its foot off the gas against No. 17 Oregon (10-3, 1-1 Pac-12) Friday night, forcing 19 turnovers and allowing its backcourt to do the work on the other side of the ball. Osborne and Rice – a senior and freshman combination – combined for 38 points to take down the Ducks by a score of 82-74.
Osborne scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, but left the game in the fourth quarter after colliding with Ducks' guard Taya Hansen. The Bruins' leading scorer left the court with assistance and was favoring her left arm.
Rice started the contest by scoring eight of the Bruins' first 10 points. Scoring 15 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and knocking down 2-of-3 from beyond the arc in the first half, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2022 made her impact on the game quickly.
One of Rice's 3-point attempts closed the second quarter, converting a corner attempt with a swish and giving UCLA a 38-32 lead. The 5-foot-11 guard ended the game with a career-high 21 points to go along with seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Midway through the third quarter, the Ducks took a 42-41 lead over the Bruins. But from that moment onward, UCLA pulled away from their opponents from the Pacific Northwest.
With graduate guard Gina Conti leading the charge, the blue and gold went on a 26-8, 8:09 minute run to take a 68-51 lead over Oregon. The second-year graduate Bruin scored all of her 11 points in the second half, with freshman forward Gabriela Jaquez adding all eight of hers in the same fashion.
Despite having as much as an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Ducks made a late charge back into the contest. Oregon brought the score to within six points with one minute left, only for the Bruins to ice the game with a 19th forced turnover and some free throws to come away with the victory.
Since falling to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 29, UCLA has beaten their last six opponents by an average of 17.8 points per game.
UCLA will finish up its road trip on Sunday against Oregon State when the Beavers host the Bruins at 1 p.m.
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