Skip to main content

It may not have been an NCAA tournament victory, but the Bruins still defended their home court in postseason action Friday night.

UCLA women's basketball (15-12, 8-8 Pac-12) defeated UC Irvine (21-12, 14-4 Big West) by a score of 61-48 in the opening round of the WNIT at Pauley Pavilion, finally pulling away late after a tight three-and-a-half quarters. The win sends the Bruins to the second round and sets them up to play Air Force on Sunday, which will also take place at home.

Leading UCLA early on was guard Natalie Chou, who knocked down five 3-pointers, but it was forward IImar'I Thomas who came through in the clutch late with seven points in the last five minutes.

Before that, though, was 35 minutes of back-and-forth basketball.

The Bruins and Anteaters were unable to create much separation in the first quarter, as there were three lead changes, three ties and neither side was ever up by more than three.

UC Irvine finally got rolling in the start of the second, with forward Naomi Hunt hitting a layup and 3-pointer to put her team up by four.

Coach Cori Close took a timeout following those back-to-back baskets, and UCLA responded by coming out of the huddle a new team.

Chou got two triples to fall after hitting one in the first, and solid feeds into the paint led to easy layups for Thomas and forward Angela Dugalic. After the Bruins blocked their seventh shot of the night on one end, guard Jaelynn Penn hit a pull up jumper to convert it into even more points.

UCLA wound up hitting six shots in a row en route to a 14-0 run, all while forcing three turnovers and 10 consecutive misses out of UC Irvine.

It didn't take long for the Anteaters to push back and get Close ticked off, though. UC Irvine finally got a shot to fall, then hit an open 3-pointer at the buzzer that had Close chewing out guard Kayla Owens and forward Izzy Anstey before they went back to the locker room.

Once up by 10, the Bruins saw their lead cut to three one minute into the third quarter. Two more Chou 3-pointers made it a nine-point game once more, but a 3 and and-1 immediately wiped those out.

Guard Charisma Osborne was able to get a reverse layup after UCLA broke UC Irvine's press, making it a two-possession game once again, and Chou hit a midrange jumper to get to 19 points on the night.

A 10-2 run made it look like the Bruins would pull away for good this time, but the Anteaters would stage yet another comeback to erase the double-digit deficit.

Between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, guard Kayla Williams went on an 8-0 run. The highlight from the stretch was a halfcourt bank at the buzzer to end the third, all while guard Kayla Owens was down with a leg injury on the other end.

UCLA was up 48-45 with eight minutes to go before guard Camryn Brown and Osborne got a pair of shots to go in the paint. UC Irvine pressed off some made free throws, though, and Brown turned it over trying to push the ball downcourt. If it weren't for two missed bunnies and a travel, the Anteaters would have cut it to three again not long after.

Instead, Thomas hit four free throws across two possessions to weather another Hunt 3-pointer. The Cincinnati transfer then found Osborne on a back door cut that turned into a reverse scoop layup, followed by an and-1 of her own to all but ice the game.

Thomas scored seven out of nine for UCLA in that critical stretch, all while hauling in seven rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.

Chou led the Bruins with 19, with Thomas posted a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double. Dugalic added eight points of her own, but outside of those three, all other UCLA players combined to shoot 27.8% from the field and 14.3% from deep.

UCLA will return to action Sunday at 2 p.m., taking on Air Force with a spot in the third round on the line. Should the Bruins pick up a second win this weekend, they would either face Wyoming or Tulsa.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA women's basketball stories: UCLA Women's Basketball on Sports Illustrated