No. 9 UCLA women’s basketball tops Michigan 84-64
Junior forward Monique Billings scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds while notching her fifth double-double of the season. (Kristie Hoang/Daily Bruin)
By Grant Sugimura
Dec. 11, 2016 4:52 p.m.
Just a day earlier, the UCLA men’s basketball team defeated Michigan by 18 points but the women’s team would not be outdone.
The No. 9 Bruins (7-1) one-upped the men in their Michigan matchup and buried the Wolverines (8-3) by 20 points, 84-64.
UCLA cruised to a 28 point lead through the first three quarters, including a dominant first period in which it outscored Michigan 25-10.
However in the fourth, the Bruins took out their starters and allowed others to get playing time. This led the Wolverines to close the gap, slightly, and outscored UCLA 22-14.
In total, 10 of the Bruins’ 13 players got playing time while all five starters scored in the double digits.
Junior forward Monique Billings led the way with 19 points, her third highest total this season, while guards Jordin Canada and Kennedy Burke tied for second on the team – the junior and sophomore both had 16.
Part of the reason for Billings’ high point total came courtesy of the charity stripe. She was seven for seven on the afternoon, reminiscent of her nine for nine performance in Cancun, Mexico.
[Related: Women’s basketball takes down Iowa, Toledo at Cancun Challenge]
The Corona, California, native shot sub-.600 from the free throw line in her first three games but has since shot over .700 in every game since, including four perfect performances.
Billings also pulled down a team-high 16 rebounds en route to her fifth double-double of the season.
Canada once again proved to be a steady presence on the court going eight for 12 for the field and dishing out 14 assists, a season-high, as well as notching her third double-double of the year.
As a team, the Bruins led in almost every major statistical category except for bench points and 3-point shooting percentage.
Redshirt senior guard Kari Korver and junior guard Kelli Hayes both led the team with two threes off of five attempts.
With the victory, UCLA extended its streak of consecutive wins at home to 18 and 22 straight against unranked opponents.
Up next, the Bruins go on a three-game road trip, taking on UC Santa Barbara, South Carolina and North Carolina A&T.
