No. 3 UCLA women dominate Southern 88-37 as season-opening win streak reaches 6 games

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Angela Dugalic scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures and No. 3 UCLA routed Southern 88-37 on Sunday.

The Bruins (6-0) tuned up for their second trip to Las Vegas in two weeks. They swept ranked North Carolina and South Florida in the WBCA Challenge last time. This week, they’ll face No. 4 Texas and play either No. 2 South Carolina or Duke in their other game.

Kiki Rice added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Lauren Betts had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and six rebounds and Lena Bilic hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

DeMya Porter scored eight points to lead Southern (1-4) in its second visit to Pauley Pavilion this year. The Jaguars lost to the Bruins by 38 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March, with UCLA advancing to the Final Four.

The Bruins led 49-9 at halftime after shutting out the Jaguars 27-0 in the second quarter. It was UCLA’s first scoreless quarter since Dec. 5, 2021, against San Jose State. Their defense forced the Jaguars into missing all of their 13 shots while committing five turnovers and grabbing just four rebounds.

In one sequence, Betts blocked a shot, Gabriela Jaquez stole the ball and Dugalic hit a 3-pointer, one of the four that she and Bilic combined to make in the second.

UCLA outscored Southern 39-0 starting at the end of the first and ending early in the third. That’s when Jaylia Reed stopped the drought with a 3-pointer — her team’s second of the game.

Southern managed 12 points in the third, when Dugalic scored UCLA’s final seven points for a 72-21 lead going into the fourth. The teams each scored 16 points in the fourth, when the Bruins’ lead reached 57 points.

Up next

Southern: Visits Washington on Tuesday night in the middle game of its Western swing.

UCLA: Plays No. 4 Texas on Wednesday at the Players Era Women’s Championship in Las Vegas.

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