There is nothing like a hometown crowd.

There is joy in playing in front of the state that made you who you are. But maybe there is some pressure too.

Graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens’ first collegiate visit to her home state of Minnesota saw her team walk away with the win. Individually, though, her four-point total ended her 10-game streak of scoring double-digit points.

No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball (16-1, 6-0) beat Minnesota (12-5, 3-3) by a score of 76-58 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The Bruins’ 76 points marked the most scored on the Golden Gophers in regulation this season – but the first time coach Cori Close’s squad has failed to score at least 80 points since its sole loss on the season to Texas.

With multiple breakaway layups and a team-leading 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field, senior guard Kiki Rice paved the way for the Bruins, also leading in minutes played with 38.

Senior center Lauren Betts got into early foul trouble, picking up her third foul of the game just 59 seconds into the third quarter. But Close kept trust in the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and left Betts on the court. Betts rewarded her coach with a 17-point performance, alongside 10 rebounds – good for her seventh double-double of the season, the best mark in the Big Ten.

Minnesota – missing its second-leading scorer in guard Tori McKinney – recorded the first five points on the board, but UCLA established its lead with a 13-0 run for a 15-7 lead in response.

The first quarter featured scoreless droughts for both teams, including a nearly three-minute span where the crowd in Minnesota was deprived of any points on the board as both teams traded turnovers and missed shots.

UCLA logged six turnovers through the first quarter, and Minnesota took advantage, converting seven of its nine points off turnovers.

The Golden Gophers eventually ended their seven-minute dry spell with 59 seconds left in the first quarter on a stepback jumper from guard/forward Grace Grocholski, while the Bruins ended the frame with free throws from Rice – for a 17-9 scoreline through 10 minutes.

UCLA limited Grocholski, who entered the game with the best 3-point shooting clip in the Big Ten, to just nine points and one bucket from beyond the arc on seven attempts.

Led by Rice’s 12 points and 100% shooting, UCLA took a 34-24 lead into the second half. 

The Bruins – who have averaged 12.4 turnovers per game this season – committed 10 turnovers in the first half, and the Golden Gophers capitalized to earn 10 of their 24 points off their opponent’s lapses. 

Across the entire game, the Bruin squad allowed 18 points off 17 turnovers, tied for their second-worst turnover performance of the season so far. Comparably, Minnesota allowed 10 turnovers for 15 points.

[Related: UCLA women’s basketball takes first loss against Texas in turnover-plagued game]

UCLA’s performance notched its sixth conference win of the season, as it remains one of only two teams in the Big Ten undefeated in conference play.

Next, UCLA will take on No. 12 Maryland at Pauley Pavilion for another ranked matchup.