This post was updated Dec. 31 at 2:48 p.m.

Wednesday’s matchup was advertised as a battle of the bigs. 

And although Lauren Betts and Gracie Merkle – preseason nominees for Center of the Year – lead their teams in scoring, roster depth tilted the tables in the Bruins’ favor. 

No. 4 UCLA women’s basketball (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten) defeated Penn State (7-7, 0-3) 97-61 Wednesday morning at Rec Hall in University Park. Betts’ 25 points led the Bruins while Merkle’s perfect clip from the field allowed for 15 points of her own. 

Graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens opened the first quarter with three made 3-pointers off as many attempts, falling into her rhythm on the perimeter. Kneepkens finished the game with 17 points off 5-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line and a team-high three steals. 

But once again, it was Lauren Betts orchestrating the Bruin show, and her 10 points in the first quarter nearly rivaled the Lady Lions’ 12.

Entering the second quarter with a 29-12 advantage, graduate student forward Angela Dugalić made a 3-point jumper to end the Bruins’ two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought that opened the quarter. Dugalić averages a 33.3% clip from beyond the arc this season, a team-high among non-guards.

Aside from Lauren Betts, it was all the Bruin bench in the second quarter. Redshirt sophomore Amanda Muse, who averages just 2.4 points per game, went 2-for-2 from the field in the second quarter to help UCLA enter the break leading 46-23. 

The Lady Lions’ defense – which featured both zone and player coverage throughout the game – struggled to stymie the Bruins’ varied threats. 

Coach Cori Close’s scoring depth is one of the most lethal in the nation – entering this week of play, UCLA was one of just four teams in the nation with four players averaging over 14 points per game. 

While graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker is the sole Bruin starter that does not average double digit points, she leads the team with 84 assists on the season – 33 more than her nearest teammate.

Despite scoring just two points, Leger-Walker boasted the second-highest plus-minus of any player on the court while logging a team-high eight assists and four rebounds. 

Separation in the rebounding column once again proved to be a difference maker in the Bruins’ victory. 

And although the 10 second chance points UCLA scored did not come close to the 35 they logged against Ohio State on Sunday, it came as a notable feat against a squad that boasts the Big Ten’s second-leading offensive rebounder in Merkle.

Freshman forward Sienna Betts – who is still on a minutes restriction coming off a lower leg injury that kept her benched until Dec. 16 – went 3-for-3 from the field to lead the Bruins in scoring in the third quarter. 

Merkle’s perfect clip from the field across the game – coupled with 100% shooting from the field from guard Kiyomi McMiller in the fourth quarter – was not enough to close the separation between the Bruins and the Lady Lions. 

And a season-high five points from freshman guard Christina Karamouzi – all downed in the final three minutes of the game – ensured that the Bruins did not ease up on the gas. With Karamouzi’s contributions, all but one Bruin ended the game with a basket. 

Next on the docket for UCLA is crosstown foe No. 17 USC.