Over the last week and a half of practice, Coach Cori Close challenged her team to work on their consistency, their physicality and their ability to defend with pride. She wants her team to play to the standard they’re known for.
With a dominant performance on both sides of the court, including 46 rebounds and 19 steals, the UCLA women’s basketball team beat Cal Poly 115-28 on Tuesday at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins demonstrated the potential they can reach on the court.
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“We still have work to do, we still have some improvements that need to happen, but I thought we were more consistently playing with intention, connectivity, and discipline,” she said. “I think it’s the first time all year we’ve hid all of our angles.”
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The UCLA (10-1) defense held the Mustangs (2-8) to single digit scoring in the last three quarters and forced 31 turnovers. The Bruins scored 59 points off turnovers. Senior Lauren Betts earned her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Kiki Rice led the team with 23 points and missed out on her own double-double by two rebounds.
Since her return from a Team USA training camp last week, Rice noticed a change in Lauren’s physicality and aggression on the court.
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“She’s definitely brought back a lot,” Rice added.
Freshman Sienna Betts, the No. 2 recruit from the 2025 class, played her first minutes with the Bruins, sharing the court with her sister for the first time for UCLA. She scored her first field goal in the fourth to give the Bruins their first 100-point game since December 2024 against Long Beach State, which they will face on Sunday.
Sienna first got on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a pass to, who else but Lauren as she was driving to the basket.
“This is something that we’ve kind of grown up dreaming about,” Lauren said. “To be at this level and to be on the court with her is just really amazing.”
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As Sienna checks off the first steps of her return to the court, Close wants Sienna not to obsess over the errors she had in the game.
“I just need to have her focused on forward and growth and not beat herself up for what she didn’t do or what she missed out on,” Close said. “The best is yet to come.”
Sienna grabbed her first points in her collegiate career off the free-throw line and finished the game with five points and two assists while playing under restricted minutes after missing the first part of the season with a leg injury.
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The No. 4 Bruins closed the second quarter with 27 unanswered points, punctuated by a three-pointer by Angela Dugalić at the buzzer.
The Bruins finished the game with five players scoring in double digits. By the end of the third quarter, UCLA held a 70-point lead.
It was déjà vu for the Mustangs, who lost to the Bruins 69-37, exactly a year ago. Cal Poly was without leading scorer Vanessa McManus.
It was a difficult task to find opponents this season, no one wanted to play against them, Close said.
“[Cal Poly is] young, and they’re injured right now, but I think they had a great perspective and they kept playing hard all the way through.”
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Close emphasized the difficulties of creating a balanced schedule that will give her team the reps needed to get them to a championship. With a large lead right off the back and finishing the game with the fourth-largest margin in their history, she wanted her team to continue to press aggressively throughout the game.
“I want to be respectful and coach our team to the standards that we have for ourselves at the same time,” she said, “that’s our goal.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
