Betts, #1 Bruins too much for Hoosiers

By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports

     The Top Excel H Sports Ranked UCLA Bruins are 15-0 on the season after a 73-62 win over the  the 29th Excel H Sports Ranked Indiana Hoosiers Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. UCLA is 4-0 in their first season in the Big Ten and will travel 2 hours up the road to face the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday in West Lafayette. The Bruins are 15-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Indiana is 2-1 in the Big Ten along with a 10-4 overall record and will travel to Northwestern on Wednesday to face the Wildcats. UCLA leads the all-time series with the Hoosiers 3-1, and this is the second time the Bruins have won in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall after a 68-58 win on December 22, 2018. This was the first meeting between the two teams since UCLA Joined the Big Ten before the 2024-25 season and the Bruins have put their stamp on how they will be force throughout the season in this era of coast-to-coast conference basketball.

      UCLA Head Coach Cori Close is excited to be part of the Big Ten and knows what it means to visit a place like Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. “The state of Indiana is such a passionate state.” Close said in her opening statement. This was UCLA’s first of three trips to Eastern and Central time zones this season and while she does not mind a noon Eastern Time tip off which is 9 AM in Los Angeles she says there will be some adjusting and tweaking to how they plan for each trip. “We practice 9 AM each morning so we are used to that” Close Said. “The problem is we have to get up earlier and do everything much earlier and this will be a wild year to how we adjust to everything, but we are excited to be In the Big Ten” Cori Close added.

       This was the first time that UCLA has gone away from the West Coast after a road trip to Washington and Home Games against Michigan and Nebraska, but Bruins are excited to see new teams and historic venues in the Big Ten. “I was excited to play here” UCLA Junior Kiki Rice said after the game. “The crowd was electric and its more fun to play on the road more than home sometimes because they don’t root for you, but I enjoyed playing here” Rice added. The Bethesda, Maryland native will get to go home to Maryland when UCLA travels to College Park to face the Terrapins on January 26 along with Freshman Zania Socka-Nugemen who is from Silver Spring, Maryland and Freshman Kendall Dudley who is from Manassas Park, Virginia.

       6-7 Junior Lauren Betts led the way for UCLA with 25 points and 12 rebounds as she recorded her 9th double-double of the season. Betts finished 12-16 from the field, 1-4 from the free throw line, 3 assists, 2 blocks and steal. Kiki Rice scored 12 points and Gabriela Jacquez added 11 points. The Burins finished 28-62 from the field for 45%, 5-18 from three-point range for 27% and 12-19 from the free throw line 63%. UCLA pulled down 40 rebounds, dished out 19 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 40 points in the paint, 18 points off turnovers and 14 bench points and committed 13 turnovers.

      Yarden Garzon scored 19 points to lead Indiana. Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 12 points and Shay Ciezki added 11 points. The Hoosiers finished 22-55 from the field for 40%, 4-21 from three-point range for 19% and 14-17 from the free throw line for 82%. The Hoosiers pulled down 31 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 28 points in the paint, 11 bench points, 10 points off turnovers and committed 13 turnovers.

       This was a very physical game as 46 fouls were called and three players fouled out. Indiana was called for 24 fouls as Karoline Striplin and Sydney Parrish fouled out late in the fourth quarter and Chloe Moore-McNeil had 4 fouls as the Hoosiers battled foul trouble throughout the game. UCLA was called for 22 fouls as Angela Dugalic fouled out in the fourth quarter and Jacquez picked four fouls. Indiana did everything they could against Betts throwing all their coverages at her but was pleased at the job that Lilly Meister and Karoline Striplin on her. “I think Lilly and Strip were working their tails off.” Indiana Head coach Teri Moren said after the game.

       UCLA went to Betts early and often as the Bruins jumped out to a 11-4 with Betts scoring 6 points. Indiana responded 12-5 run to end the quarter as UCLA led 18-16. Indiana struggled to hit shots in the second quarter as the Bruins scored 11 points before Yarden Garzon hit a free throw as Indiana outscored UCLA 5-1 as Karoline Striplin hit a shot to beat the halftime buzzer as UCLA lead Indiana 33-21 at halftime, but the Bruins outscored the Hoosiers 15-5 in the second quarter. UCLA made it very hard on Indiana because of the Bruins size and speed and the second quarter was “really really tough” according to Teri Moren. Moren added that she was very proud of the team’s effort and if shots were able to fall it would have been a closer game.

      In the Second half the Hoosiers could not get over the hump as they trailed by 12 points 56-44 to end the third quarter. Indiana outscored UCLA 18-17 in the fourth quarter as the Bruins made one of their last eight shots from the field. The Hoosiers got within 8 points on two occasions, but the Bruins closed it out as Junior Janiah Barker waived to the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Crowd before the game was over and did not, please the home crowd.

       UCLA Head Coach Cori Close praised the media that was in attendance after the game and says, “We want to keep growing the Game”. 11,528 were in attendance to see the Number 1 Team in the country for Women’s Basketball visit Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the first time since Penn State beat the Hoosiers 70-65 on February 13, 1994. Indiana is 0-6 against the number 1 team in the country but the popularity of Women’s Basketball continues to expand the Hoosiers and Coach Moren knows that the 18 team Big Ten is tough but they can still be one of the top teams in the league.