UCLA Women's Basketball Knocked Out of Sweet 16 by South Carolina
Playing in their opponents' backyard, the Bruins were no match for the Gamecocks on Saturday.
No. 4 seed UCLA women's basketball (27-10, 11-7 Pac-12) was unable to keep pace with No. 1 seed South Carolina (35-0, 16-0 SEC) in Greenville, losing 59-43 in the NCAA tournament regional semifinals. It was the Bruins' fifth trip to the Sweet 16 in the last seven tournaments, but they fell to 1-4 in those games.
The Bruins never held a lead all afternoon, and while their defense kept them in it for a good chunk of the contest, their offense scored a season low and it was never as close as their regular season matchup against the Gamecocks on Nov. 29.
In that game, UCLA held a fourth quarter lead on the road. This time around, the Bruins trailed by 20 heading into the final frame, getting thoroughly outplayed by the No. 1 team in the country.
South Carolina entered Saturday shooting 42.3% from the field and averaging 81.0 points per game on the season. Coach Cori Close deployed a unique defensive gameplan to counter the Gamecocks' potent offense, though, completely sagging off on the perimeter and crowding the paint.
UCLA limited South Carolina to a season-low 25 points in the first half thanks to the strategy, forcing plenty of travels in the post while the Gamecocks airballed 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
By the end of the day, South Carolina narrowly exceeded its season-low points total by one. Their 38.1% field goal percentage was also fourth-worst of the year.
Despite having more bodies down low, the Bruins still allowed nine offensive rebounds to the Gamecocks' longer forwards in the opening half alone. However, South Carolina was only able to convert those into four second-chance points.
On the other end of the floor, UCLA was unable to take advantage of their defensive efforts.
The Bruins had just 15 points at the break – also their fewest on the season – after missing open shots and botching fast break opportunities. Forward Emily Bessoir got called for three fouls in the first half alone, and no UCLA player had made more than one field goal before heading into the locker room.
Guard Charisma Osborne hit a layup to cut the deficit to eight early in the third quarter, but South Carolina responded with a 7-1 run. After the Bruins held the to 11-for-36 shooting to start the game, the Gamecocks rattled off five makes in a row.
That negated UCLA's offensive improvement, when they hit four of five shots in that same stretch. Osborne sparked that revival, scoring eight of the Bruins' first 10 points in the second half.
But unlike her 36-point explosion against No. 5 seed Oklahoma in the Round of 32, Osborne's efforts alone were not enough to put UCLA over the top.
When Bessoir finally knocked down a 3-pointer, South Carolina answered with one of its own. The same happened when Osborne swished a post hook and the Gamecocks immediately posted up for a layup that wiped out the Bruins' progress.
Bessoir – who tore her left ACL in November 2021 – appeared to hurt her right leg, and South Carolina extended its led to 20 not long after. Although she did return to the game, things didn't get much better for the Bruins.
UCLA got as close as 16 points with 6:35 left on the clock, only for South Carolina to pull back ahead by 23. From there, the Gamecocks were able to send in their benchwarmers to close things out against the Bruins.
Osborne drew a hard foul in the waning minutes, getting back up to hit her free throws, but she checked out for what may be the final time in her UCLA career. The senior led her team with 14 points, as no other Bruin scored more than six.
The Gamecocks had three players break double figures, but none of them got past 10 points. While forward Aliyah Boston only scored eight points on 3-for-7 shooting, she added a team-best 14 rebounds and two blocks to go along with her +23 plus/minus.
South Carolina will face No. 2 seed Maryland in the Elite Eight on Monday, while UCLA will make the long trek home back to Westwood.
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