Lauren Betts He received the post pass midway through the third quarter, firmly gripping the ball with both hands. He moved his arms in one direction and then another, until he found the position he wanted.
That’s when UCLAThe center rose for another layup against an overmatched defender.
An undefeated team improved on Sunday afternoon with its main interior presence back in the lineup.
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In her return from a knee injury that sidelined her for two games, Betts and her teammate Kiki Rice propelled top-ranked UCLA to a Victory 91-54 over Nebraska at Pauley Pavilion in the Bruins’ Big Ten Conference home opener.
Showing his usual dominant form, Betts finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds. Rice was virtually flawless en route to 18 points, including the 1,000th of his career, while hitting all eight shots and recording six rebounds, four steals and two assists, his only blemish being three turnovers.
“I felt really good,” Betts said. “Obviously coming in I was a little nervous about my knee, but I think my teammates and my coaches really helped me deal with it today and helped alleviate some of those nerves.”
There was more to celebrate than another landslide victory given that it gave Cori Closewho is already the winningest coach in UCLA women’s basketball history, earned her 300th spot with the team.
Close said she wasn’t aware she was on the brink of the milestone and her players surprised her with a shower of confetti in the locker room.
“I literally didn’t know why they were doing that,” Close said. “…I’m just focused. My word for this year (and we’ve all chosen one) is “present” and it was being prioritized. Really, that’s the only thing I want to focus on, being present. “I’m grateful (to have) 300 wins and I still get to be the head coach here and I get to work with amazing people and this will be our alumni weekend.”
Forward Timea Gardiner He added 15 points off the bench for the Bruins, who shot 55.9% and made 21 of 28 free throws, making up for their long-range struggles. UCLA maintained leads of up to 38 points despite committing 26 turnovers and making just four of 17 three-pointers (23.5%).
The Bruins (13-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) pulled away by shutting down a high-scoring Nebraska offense that entered the game averaging 79.1 points. Against an active UCLA defense that routinely turned away passes for steals and was bothered by its superior size, the Cornhuskers (10-3, 1-1) shot just 33.3% and committed 19 turnovers.
No one was more nervous than Nebraska center Alexis Markowski, whose three points were well below the team-leading 15 points she averaged entering the game. Plagued by foul trouble, Markowski made 1 of 8 shots and committed two turnovers.
After outscoring its first twelve opponents by an average of 32.1 points, UCLA found itself in an unusual situation midway through the second quarter.
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Guard Britt Prince’s 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run for Nebraska, pushing the Cornhuskers to a 24-23 lead after the Bruins missed eight straight shots.
Nebraska’s lead was even more surprising given that Markowski spent most of the first half in foul trouble and didn’t score until making a layup with 4:59 left in the second quarter. But on the Cornhuskers’ next possession, Markowski committed an offensive foul and had to leave for the rest of the first half because it was his third foul.
Buoyed by a flurry of steals and some strong post moves from Betts, UCLA scored the next 12 points en route to taking a 37-30 halftime lead.
With their star center back in the fold, the Bruins felt more like themselves.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.