This post was updated Jan. 18 at 3:44 p.m.

The last time the Bruins faced an opponent ranked higher than the Terrapins, the only lead they held was off the opening basket.

On Sunday afternoon, UCLA once again found the game-opening advantage that, this time, it would never relinquish.

After defeating four ranked opponents since its loss to then-No. 4 Texas in November, now-No. 3 UCLA (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten) added a 97-67 win against its second highest-ranked opponent of the season in No. 12 Maryland (17-3, 5-3) on Sunday afternoon. The match marked the Bruins’ 11th win in a row, their 17th overall victory and a continuation of undefeated conference play.

“It’s the screen that led to the open shot, it’s the seal that forced a rotation that got us an open 3-pointer,” coach Cori Close said. “The list goes on and on, and that’s what I want to celebrate.”

The Bruins and Terrapins have met nine times in the program’s history, with Maryland holding a 5-4 lead over UCLA. But in the Big Ten rivals’ most recent matches, UCLA now holds a three-game win streak. While the Bruins may not hold an NCAA championship, they do boast the 1978 AIAW national title, which was won against the Terrapins.

Mere seconds into the game, senior guards Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez teamed up as Rice assisted Jaquez to grant UCLA the lead. Both guards average double-digit points, scoring 15.6 and 13.8, respectively, per game this season.

Jaquez, who went on to put up 22 points against the Terrapins, is having her strongest scoring season yet.

“She’s such an amazing, operable cutter,” said graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker. “She’s just a boss on the offensive end.”

Four additional Bruins are averaging double-digit points, with three reaching the 10-point mark before the end of the first half. Graduate student guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens sank 13 points each, contributing to UCLA’s 47-35 lead entering the locker room at halftime.

While Leger-Walker transferred to UCLA last season after playing with Washington State, she redshirted the 2024-25 season while recovering from a knee injury. Since making her debut for the Bruins this season, she holds team-highs in assists and steals, with 103 and 31, respectively. Although she is not one of the six players averaging double-digit points, she posts 8.7 points per game and has started in all 17 contests this season.

“One of the things, for me, coming into this program was being really intentional about how I can use my experience as a veteran player who is still a transfer but not letting that deter how much I can impact the team,” Leger-Walker said. “And so a lot of that leadership off the court was because I came in with that mindset.”

Kneepkens, on the other hand, transferred to UCLA from Utah in her final year of eligibility. She averages a team-high 45.8% from the 3-point arch and is tied with Jaquez for third-highest points averaged this season, with 13.8.

Combined, the graduate student guard duo added 33 points to UCLA’s 97 total, with 16 by Kneepkens and 17 by Leger-Walker. The Waikato, New Zealand, local neared a double-double with nine rebounds.

“I wanted to be on a team where it was really hard for teams to scout us,” Kneepkens said. “So I think that is really a hard thing for teams to figure out because it is truly pick your poison.”

UCLA and Maryland met almost a year ago to the date, with the Bruins handing the Terrapins a 82-67 loss in which then-junior center Lauren Betts downed a career-high 33 points. While she has not breached the 30-point mark so far this season, she leads the team in average points with 16.4.

[Related: Lauren Betts hits career high in UCLA women’s basketball’s Maryland victory]

Halfway through the third quarter, the Bruins found a 20-point lead off scoring from Kneepkens, Leger-Walker and Jaquez. A minute into the fourth frame, that lead hit 30 points.

“We played much better, especially in that third quarter, defensively,” Close said. “I thought we communicated better. I thought we made more tactical, purposeful decisions on our switches.”

The Terrapins trailed the Bruins throughout the final half, eventually making way to UCLA’s near-100 points.