This post was updated Feb. 20 at 1:20 p.m.

A Big Ten regular-season conference title slipped through the Bruins’ fingertips last season after they fell to the Trojans twice.

But with a decisive 80-46 victory over their crosstown rivals Jan. 3 and an unblemished conference record under their belts, the Bruins are poised to achieve the feat that last year’s Final Four squad could not secure.

Redemption from second place in the 2024-25 regular season is on the horizon for No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball (25-1, 15-0 Big Ten) when it faces Washington (19-7, 9-6) on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. A win would guarantee the Bruins – who boast a two-win lead over the nearest opponent – the Big Ten title, even with a pair of conference games left.

Washington has been in and out of the rankings all season, peaking at No. 20 on Dec. 8 before falling out of the top 25 following a 65-56 loss to then-No. 15 Iowa on Feb. 11.

Meanwhile, the Bruins enter the game on a 19-game win streak, with their last loss in November to No. 4 Texas. Coach Cori Close’s squad is coming off a 92-48 win over Indiana on Sunday, preceded by a pair of ranked confident victories over then-No. 8 Michigan and then-No. 13 Michigan State on Feb. 8 and 11, respectively.

“Bottom line from me is it’s not about how much we win by, it’s not about who led us in scoring,” Close said. “It is about growth, and it is about intentionality.”

Seven Bruins reached double-digit scoring against the Hoosiers, with senior guard Kiki Rice leading the way with 17 points and senior center Lauren Betts achieving her 10th double-double of the year, recording 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez, graduate student guards Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens and freshmen guard/forward Lena Bilić and forward Sienna Betts rounded out the double-digit scorers.

The Bruins also outrebounded the opposing team 51-24, with nine of the 10 players on the squad finishing with at least three boards, helping Close’s team score 28 second-chance points. UCLA also finished with only four turnovers, its lowest mark of the season and the first time since Dec. 31 it has finished in single-digits.

“We were really intentional about what goals we wanted to achieve today, and I thought we did a really good job of that,” Lauren Betts said. “Every single timeout, just making sure that we’re resetting and making sure that everyone’s on the same page, and we’re continuing to talk, and when we’re not, we’re calling each other out. We’re making sure we’re continuing to compete for the entire game.”

A win against the Huskies would guarantee the Bruins their first Big Ten regular-season championship, but coach Tina Langley’s crew could present a challenge.

Washington boasts wins over then-No.6 Michigan and then-No. 16 Maryland.

The Huskies’ 12-point victory over the Wolverines is the latter’s largest margin of defeat for the squad ranked second in the Big Ten – a squad that the Bruins beat by just three points.

The Huskies’ biggest threats are guards Sayvia Sellers and Avery Howell, who are averaging 19.4 and 14.6 points per game, respectively, in conference play. Howell, a transfer from the USC squad that nabbed the regular season conference title from UCLA last year, also leads the team in rebounding, contributing 9.4 boards per game.

The Bruins have four players averaging double-digits in conference play, with Lauren Betts leading the way with 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Betts’ rebounding mark places her first in the conference, with Howell right behind her at second.

UCLA is shooting at a higher clip from the field than Washington in Big Ten play – 51.5% to the Huskies’ 44.9%. Close’s squad is also outscoring Big Ten opponents by a margin of 26.4, with their closest game of the conference season being the three-point victory over the Wolverines on Feb. 8.

The Bruins are looking to enter the last three games of the regular season with consistency.

“We just take it day by day,” Rice said after Sunday’s game. “I think we don’t want to look too far ahead, we just focus on our day-to-day process, and I think that’s what we’ve done so far this year, and that’s why we’ve been able to stay grounded, stay focused and stay true to our process.”