1 week Ago
Southern guard Aniya Gourdine (1) dribbles against UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh) Jessie Alcheh UCLA guard Kiki Rice dribbles as Southern guards DaKiyah Sanders and Aniya Gourdine watch during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Los Angeles. ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO BY JESSIE ALCHEH Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Southern women's basketball team made UCLA work hard in the first half of their first round NCAA Tournament game Friday night in Los Angeles.
Although Southern played hard the entire game, the second half was a different story as the No. 1-seeded Bruins pulled away to post an 84-46 win at Pauley Pavilion, their home arena. For a few minutes at the end of the second quarter, Southern (21-15) played the brand of basketball that brought it Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.
In the last six minutes, the Jaguars forced six turnovers and outscored the heavily-favored Bruins 10-2. Southern trailed 38-26 at halftime, but might have been closer were it not for a handful of missed layups. In the third quarter, Southern missed its first seven shots while UCLA increased its lead to 47-26.
UCLA (31-2) led 59-33 entering the fourth quarter and never let Southern get closer than 25 points the rest of the way. The win advances UCLA into a second-round matchup with No. 8 Richmond, which defeated No.
9 Georgia Tech 74-49. Bruins' All-America center Lauren Betts was too much for Southern to handle on both ends of the court. Betts had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
She also blocked four shots, but altered a half dozen others. Janiah Barker, had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins, who outrebounded Southern 44-23. Londynn Jones added 11 points and Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice and Elina Aarnisalo each scored 10.
Aniya Gourdine was the only Jaguar in double figures with 10 points. Soniyah Reed was held to 2 points after notching a career-high 24 in the Jaguars opening win over UC San Diego. Overall, Southern made 19 of 60 shots, good for 31.
7%, while UCLA was 26 of 47 (55.3%). UCLA had its way in the first quarter.
The Bruins made 7 of 10 shots from the field and from the foul line as they took a 23-11 lead. It was more of the same in the second quarter with UCLA making its first five shots to extend the lead to 36-16. That's when Southern's defense made its presence felt.
The Jaguars forced six turnovers in the last six minutes of the half, and closed with a 10-2 run to cut their deficit to 38-26. UCLA went scoreless for more than five minutes and finally got an inside basket from Betts with less than a minute before halftime. Aniya Gourdine and Taniya Lawson each had two baskets in the late surge.
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