Women’s basketball nears end of nonconference play with win over CSU Bakersfield
Redshirt sophomore forward Emily Bessoir jumps up to attempt to shoot a contested shot. Bessoir tied for the Bruins’ leading scorer Saturday with 12 points in addition to eight rebounds. (Jack Stenzel/Daily Bruin)
Women’s Basketball
| CSU Bakersfield | 47 |
| No. 10 UCLA | 75 |
By Alexis Hinkle
Dec. 17, 2022 4:23 p.m.
This post was updated Dec. 17 at 4:55 p.m.
After controlling the court from coast to coast, it was the rookies who led the Bruins to a runaway victory.
Two days after defeating its crosstown rival, UCLA women’s basketball (11-1, 1-0 Pac-12) returned to Pauley Pavilion on Saturday and overcame CSU Bakersfield (2-4) with a 75-47 win in its second to last nonconference game.
Freshman guard Kiki Rice broke the seal and put the blue and gold on top with a three-pointer to open the game. Eight players scored in the first frame, including all five freshmen who saw the court and made an impact early.
Freshman guard Londynn Jones and freshman forward Lina Sontag collected back-to-back steals as the Roadrunners were unable to make a basket for more than three minutes. The Bruins are currently averaging 8.3 steals per game across 11 games.
Despite CSU Bakersfield guard Morgan Edwards making a jumper in the last few seconds of the quarter, UCLA still led 22-8. With seven fouls, six turnovers and a shot clock violation, the Roadrunners were unable to catch up to the Bruins.
CSU Bakersfield opened up the second quarter with a six point run, decreasing UCLA’s lead to 10 within four minutes. But within that same run, two made baskets from a CSU Bakersfield guard resulted in senior guard Charisma Osborne responding with two of her own to ensure the blue and gold stayed in the lead.
Senior guard Camryn Brown joined Osborne on her familiar veteran leadership. After a steal and a layup with less than a minute left to go, Brown extended the blue and gold’s lead to 37-20, its biggest lead of the first half.
CSU Bakersfield scored the first two buckets of the second half after a turnover from graduate guard Gina Conti put the ball out of bounds. However, Conti responded quickly and secured two back-to-back assists and a steal. Conti is currently leading the Bruins in assists and continued to hold this lead in today’s matchup with eight.
Off of assists like Conti’s, the Bruins were able to score over 69% of their field goals in the fourth quarter. Jones and freshman forward Gabriela Jaquez took it a step further and hit three three-pointers collectively, ending the contest with a 29-point lead.
UCLA would not relinquish its lead for the rest of the contest and finished the game outscoring CSU Bakersfield 75-47.
