This post was updated Nov. 19 at 9:40 p.m.

If there has been any lesson within the last week, it’s that upsets are the name of the game in basketball.

It all began Nov. 6, when reigning national champion LSU fell to then-No. 20 Colorado. Next, NC State slashed then-No. 2 Connecticut. And eventually, it was No. 2 Iowa failing to surmount Kansas State.

On Friday, the Bruins ensured they wouldn’t accept the same fate, despite a 40-minute scare from the Tigers comprised of 10 lead changes and eight ties.

In a close-call contest, No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (4-0) overcame Princeton (2-1) by a score of 77-74 on Friday in Pauley Pavilion. The Tigers are currently five-time Ivy League champions and began this season with an undefeated mark prior to facing the Bruins.

Coach Cori Close said the number of top-five upsets thus far speaks to the level of talent within the league.

“It shows you about the growth of our game, that there’s so many more good players and good teams and at a really high level,” Close said. “Competition makes everybody better – it raises the tide for all boats, so to speak.”

The game opened in a mirroring way for the Bruins, as they went on an early run to lead 17-8 at the end of the first quarter. 

But in the second, Princeton woke up. 

The Tigers took off, going 10-for-11 on field goals in the second quarter, ultimately outscoring the Bruins 27-15 to take hold of the lead. But with each made basket, UCLA attempted to respond, never allowing Princeton to run away with the game. Sophomore forward Gabriela Jaquez – who is fresh off of a 30-point performance Sunday – scored six points in the second quarter alone to keep her squad in the game. 

But despite Jaquez’s efforts, the Bruins headed into the locker room down 35-32 – their first deficit thus far this season. 

Out of the locker room, UCLA prevented Princeton from inflating its lead and instead began to chop it down. Behind baskets from Jaquez, sophomore guard Kiki Rice, graduate student guard Charisma Osborne and sophomore forward Christeen Iwuala, UCLA brought its deficit down to one point three times throughout the opening minutes of the half. 

Osborne said her strategy Friday was centered around finding the best-fit player according to what the Princeton defense was giving the squad.

“I was just reading the defense,” Osborne said. “We’re always talking about, ‘You never know, it could be anyone, any single night.’” 

And just over three minutes in, Jaquez gave the Bruins their lead back. 

But Princeton didn’t falter. The Tigers continued to respond, going on a 7-0 run shortly thereafter. 

With the same back-and-forth between the two groups occurring in the succeeding minutes, sophomore center Lauren Betts was fouled on a made layup to add to her total of 18 points and minimize UCLA’s deficit to one point once again with three minutes to go in the third frame.

In the final three minutes of the third quarter, the Bruins managed to position the game into a deadlock going into the fourth – a knot Osborne would untangle with an opening basket.

Close said amid high-scoring marks from a slew of her players, she’s increasingly proud of Osborne’s leadership on and off of the ball.

“Ris (Osborne) just keeps making winning plays,” Close said. “My big thing is, ‘Be efficient, make us win.’ … And that doesn’t have to be her individual performance, but I think that shows so much maturity on her part.”

Osborne continued adding to her total with 13 more points in the fourth quarter alone, while Betts collected two additional rebounds to notch her third double-double in a row, with 22 points and 10 rebounds throughout the game.

Before the fourth quarter, Betts made 100% of the shots she took but didn’t collect a field goal in the fourth, whereas Osborne added the majority of her points in the fourth alone. Betts said the flip of leaders on the scoring front wasn’t an intention – it was just what worked in the moment.

“It was such a close game,” Betts said. “We just had to go with what was working at that point.”

In addition to the high marks from Osborne and Betts, Princeton persisted with a 24-point performance from guard Kaitlyn Chen and a 20-point clip from guard Skye Belker.

The contest remained within reach for each team, with four points being the greatest lead of the quarter and the leader changing three times. But ultimately, the final run came from UCLA, and it took the victory to maintain its undefeated mark heading into next week’s top-10 matchup with No. 8 Connecticut.

When discussing the upcoming game, Close said she hopes to mirror Princeton’s tenacity come next Friday. 

“If we can be more like Princeton was against UConn, we’ll give ourselves a good chance,” Close said.