This post was updated Feb. 2 at 10:53 p.m.

Entering the final quarter with just two points to her name, 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts found yet another way to contribute to a Bruin win. Etching a career-high 11 assists, Betts embraced her role as a facilitator.

No. 1 UCLA women’s basketball (21-0, 9-0 Big Ten) defeated Minnesota (18-5, 6-5) 79-53. The victory furthered the Bruins’ win streak to 21 games, extending the team’s strongest start in its 51-year history. The match also marked the Bruins’ return to Westwood following over a month away due to a postponed match resulting from the Los Angeles County fires and a three-game road trip. 

“The reason we haven’t been here for over a month is because of what our great city has been going through,” said coach Cori Close. “As intensely as we are pursuing our craft, there has to be humility to say thank you to all the people fighting to rebuild.”

Junior guard Londynn Jones struck first for the Bruins, knocking down a 3-point basket from the right wing that had the Pauley Pavilion crowd on its feet. But Minnesota guard Amaya Battle quickly responded with a 3-point shot of her own.

Battle – the No. 39 recruit of the class of 2022 – led the Golden Gophers out of the gates, scoring each of their first nine points. She finished the first half with 17 of Minnesota’s 28 points on 8-for-10 shooting, but was held to only four second-half points.

“Battle’s a great player and had a great game,” said junior guard Kiki Rice. “One of the greatest things with our team is the versatility of defensive bodies we can put on different guards.”

Battle was joined on the court by the top three recruits of her class: UCLA juniors Betts, Rice and forward Janiah Barker.

Betts was awarded National Player of the Week honors following UCLA’s Northeast trip, where she averaged 27.3 points and 9.7 rebounds. The center, however, was held to just two first-half points and four second-half points Sunday afternoon.

While Sophie Hart, Minnesota’s 6-foot-5 center, helped prevent the John Wooden Award Candidate from scoring at her usual rate, Betts was able to equal her season-high five assists by the end of the first half. 

By game’s end, Betts had six points, six rebounds and 11 assists. The game marked Betts’ first game in single-digit scoring this season.

“Lauren stepped up to the challenge,” Close said. “It speaks volumes to how dominant she’s been … and how selfless she is to be able to just facilitate for her team.”

The No. 2 recruit Rice – who made a brief visit to the locker room in the first quarter – finished the game with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

Freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo, who entered the game for Rice, put up a team-high 15 points. The Helsinki, Finland, local added five rebounds – the highest of any UCLA guard.

“It’s been a lot of individual work with the assistant coaches,” Aarnisalo said. “I’ve watched a lot of film, and I think it showed in this game.”

UCLA struggled from beyond the arc in the first two quarters, knocking down just 6-for-19 3-point shots. Jones, who set UCLA’s single-season record for 3-pointers made in the 2023-2024 season, led the team from downtown, scoring two 3-point baskets on equally as many attempts. The Riverside local also added two steals. 

“She’s been a pretty good shooter for a long time,” Close said. “But I think it’s her decision-making that has gotten so much better. … What I’ve loved about Londynn’s growth is her off-ball defense – how she’s figured out how to make plays away from the ball and make her team better.”

And despite leading the Big Ten in average field goal percentage, at the midway point of the game, UCLA trailed Minnesota in shooting accuracy by more than two percent. The Bruins headed to the locker room after two quarters holding a narrow 33-28 lead.

UCLA opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run, opening up its first double-digit lead of the game. Junior guard Gabriela Jaquez contributed five points to the early second half surge and finished the game with nine points.

The Bruins outscored the Gophers in the third quarter 18-10 and entered the final quarter with a 51-38 lead after improving their shooting percentage to 40.4% overall from 38.7% at the half. 

After a heavily contested first half, a shooting spur in the fourth quarter solidified the Bruin win. UCLA finished with 46 second-half points and held Minnesota to 25 points over the same stretch.

Before this matchup, the Bruins and Golden Gophers had faced each other on just three occasions, with the most recent meeting being over 10 years ago. With the win, UCLA improves to 3-1 against Minnesota in their all-time record.

Up next for UCLA are contests against No. 8 Ohio State, Oregon and No. 4 USC.

“The more we create stops on defense and get defensive rebounds, the less we will have to deal with their (Ohio State’s) press,” Close said. “If we didn’t learn from today and we don’t carry those things over, that’s a team that will make a penny.”