Women’s basketball overtakes Huskies in 2nd half to secure season sweep of team

This post was updated Feb. 13 at 10:57 p.m.

For the second time this season, the Bruins faced a halftime deficit against the lowest-ranked team in the Pac-12.

But just like the first time, the blue and gold emerged victorious. 

UCLA women’s basketball (11-9, 6-6 Pac-12) defeated Washington (5-13, 0-10) on Sunday afternoon in Seattle by a score of 69-61. With the win, the Bruins have swept the season series against the Huskies for the second straight year after defeating them at home Jan. 14. The team has also split its weekend road trip after losing to Washington State on Friday.

Redshirt senior guard Chantel Horvat, who posted a season-best 13 points and nine rebounds, said the team was mentally ready to bounce back from its last-second loss earlier in the week.

“It was really important to us. Not to prove to anyone else outside but just to prove to ourselves that we needed to bounce back,” Horvat said. “We needed to learn from our mistakes Friday and keep growing and keep fighting.”  

The Bruins won the tip, but the Huskies posted the first points before a missed shot inside by Horvat then turned into a second-chance layup for junior guard Camryn Brown. On the next possession, Horvat knocked down a midrange jumper off an assist from graduate student forward IImar’I Thomas to give her team its first lead of the game at 4-2.   

In the first frame alone, Washington went 3-of-4 from downtown while UCLA missed both of its long-range attempts. Late in the quarter, Washington missed its first 3 on its fourth attempt, which turned into an inside bucket for redshirt freshman forward Izzy Anstey on the other end to cut the deficit to three at the end of the opening period.

The Bruins opened the second quarter in a zone defense and immediately forced two turnovers. Junior guard Charisma Osborne knocked down the first 3 of the afternoon for the Bruins after stealing the ball on the first possession of the period to tie up the score at 16 apiece.

A minute later, Anstey sustained an elbow to the face from Washington center Nancy Mulkey, causing her to lose a tooth. The 6-foot-9 center was called for a technical foul for excessive contact.

Osborne sank the two technical free throws as part of what would become a 13-0 run for UCLA dating back to the end of the first quarter and held its largest lead of the game up to that point at seven points. 

UCLA went back to a man-to-man defense, but guard Haley Van Dyke drained her third 3-pointer of the game off a screen to end the run. Another 3-ball from the Huskies cut their deficit to two, but Osborne responded with a 3 of her own to end an 8-1 Washington run. The home team made three more 3-pointers in the last 3:17 of the half to take a 37-32 lead into halftime. 

The Huskies – who entered the contest averaging six 3-pointers a game – shot 8-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first half, including five makes in the second quarter. Van Dyke, Mulkey and forward Lauren Schwartz combined for 6-of-6 shooting from long range and 31 points through the first two quarters.

Osborne said the Bruins focused on their defensive discipline coming out of the locker room after halftime in order to limit the Huskies’ impact from behind the arc.

“All we talked about in the locker room at halftime was defense,” Osborne said. “We just made it a point to get stops and not allow them to get all of those 3s.”

Washington opened the second half with a layup, but Osborne responded immediately by knocking down her third 3 of the game to become the first Bruin to reach double figures. Horvat converted a three-point play on the next possession as part of a 9-0 UCLA run, and the team was able to reclaim the lead 5:57 into the half with the score at 41-39.

With just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, redshirt freshman forward Angela Dugalić scored her first bucket of the season while drawing a shooting foul, then responded to a 3 from Schwartz with another layup inside and a defensive rebound immediately on the other end.

Coach Cori Close said while the Bruins have played the whole season with a short-handed roster, the addition of players like Dugalić – who made her season debut Friday – has immediately helped the Bruins on the defensive end.

“The biggest challenge is not the physical part. It’s the synergy. It’s the chemistry, trying to figure out at this point in the season how to integrate these players,” Close said. “You don’t need to have perfect chemistry on the defensive end. That’s a way that we can make a difference with a bigger roster right away.” 

The Huskies closed out the quarter with a jumper to cut the deficit to five, but the Bruins limited the Huskies to nine points in the third quarter and took a 51-46 lead into the final frame. 

In the fourth quarter, the Bruins began to pull away as Thomas posted six points in three minutes, including her first 3-pointer of the game. However, Close said Thomas made an even bigger impact on the other side of the ball.

“In the second half, she added her high-post defense and really made those catches to Mulkey much more difficult,” Close said. “Really proud of IImar’I’s defensive improvement this weekend. A really good step in the right direction.” 

Down the stretch, Osborne pushed the lead to eight points – the team’s largest lead of the game – with her fifth 3-pointer. After cutting the deficit to six with just under a minute to play, the Huskies failed to retake the lead for the rest of the game to give the Bruins the win.

After a last-second shot gave Washington State a one-point victory on Friday, Osborne said the Bruins were determined to not come home empty-handed.

“Me and Chantel were not leaving Washington without a dub,” Osborne said.