With the 14-0, No. 1 team in the nation coming into Assembly Hall, Indiana had a prime opportunity to get a marquee win, but it wasn't the Hoosiers' day, with UCLA getting the win 73-62.
After a competitive first quarter, the second quarter was where things shifted for the Hoosiers, as the Bruins turned a two-point lead after one into a 12-point advantage at halftime.
This was a deficit IU just couldn't come back from, as UCLA responded whenever Indiana seemed like it might have had a run brewing.
The Hoosiers shot 22-for-55 for the game in what was a very poor shooting performance overall, especially considering just how much the third quarter boosts the 40% shooting mark.
UCLA shot a similarly disappointing 28-for-62, but it was still slightly better than Indiana throughout the game.
Some top scorers for the Hoosiers include Yarden Garzon with 19, Chloe Moore-McNeil with 12, and Shay Ciezki with 11, but they just couldn't compete with the Bruins' superstar Lauren Betts.
Betts had 25 on 12-of-16 shooting and was just as good as advertised, doing whatever it took to make sure her team walked away with the win at Assembly Hall.
And it did, as UCLA took down Indiana and snapped its six-game win streak. Here's how it happened:
UCLA TAKES LEAD INTO THE BREAK AFTER UGLY FIRST HALF
Both Indiana and UCLA boast very efficient offenses, but you wouldn't know it after the first half, as it was a very sloppy start to what was supposed to be an entertaining contest.
With 17 combined turnovers, 23 combined fouls, and both teams shooting well under 50% from the field, the first half wasn't the prettiest of showings. UCLA, however, led at the half due to slightly better numbers overall.
The first quarter saw both teams go on 9-0 runs—UCLA first, jumping out to a 13-4 early lead, but IU ended the quarter on a 9-0 stretch, making it just 18-16 UCLA when the first-quarter buzzer sounded.
IU shot exactly 50% in the first, going 6-of-12 from the field, but shot just 2-of-7 from three, not connecting on as many long-range shots as it would have liked to.
UCLA, though, didn't get out to a hot start either, actually shooting a worse 7-for-15 from the field in the first.
This opening period had some ugly stretches, but overall it wasn't nearly as sloppy as the second quarter, with the Hoosiers especially struggling to put the ball in the basket.
IU shot just 2-of-11 from the field in the second, needing a buzzer-beating jumper from Ciezki to even reach that mark.
The Hoosiers also turned it over seven times in the second, giving them 11 for the first half—a number far too large to be competitive with the No. 1 team in the country.
UCLA also didn't have the best second quarter, but it wasn't nearly as ugly as IU's, with the Bruins shooting 6-for-16 and turning it over three times.
Betts ended the first half with nine points for UCLA—not an awful number by any means, but considering she scored six in the opening minutes, she certainly cooled down as the half went on.
Garzon led IU in scoring during the first half with eight points, though she connected on just one of her four 3-point attempts.
When the first half was all said and done, UCLA led 33-21. The Hoosiers missed a golden opportunity to stay competitive with the Bruins, letting it slip away with poor play in the second quarter.
BOTH OFFENSES SCORE 23 IN HIGH-POWERED THIRD QUARTER
he second quarter may have been a low-scoring slugfest, but in the third, both offenses took off. Each team scored 23 points in what was a complete 180 compared to the second quarter.
This included an 8-0 run from IU, cutting the Bruins' lead to eight with around four minutes left in the quarter, but UCLA came right back and scored five straight of its own.
IU shot 9-of-15 from the field and scored more points than it did in the first and second quarters combined, showing just how different the third quarter was compared to the first half.
Garzon, Moore-McNeil, and Ciezki each scored seven in the quarter, stepping up when their team needed them most.
And IU needed it because of just how well UCLA was scoring too. The Bruins refused to give IU an inch, even as the Hoosiers put on an offensive show in the third.
Betts scored eight for the Bruins in the quarter, ensuring her second-quarter struggles wouldn’t define her performance. She led UCLA to a 10-of-18 shooting mark for the period.
With both teams scoring at will, it was a thrilling period of basketball—a glimpse of what this matchup could have been if Indiana had shot this well the entire game.
Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, they didn’t. And while this was IU’s best quarter of the game, it still trailed by 12 entering the final period.
UCLA KEEPS IU COMEBACK AT BAY IN FOURTH, ESCAPES WITH THE W
After the third, one might have hoped Indiana had a comeback in it with how well it was shooting the ball, but UCLA kept the Hoosiers at bay for the entirety of the quarter, not allowing them to even sniff a run that could have brought them back into the game.
The Bruins built their largest lead of the game—16 points—with just over five minutes to play, effectively extinguishing IU’s hopes of a comeback.
Betts scored six points during this stretch to start the fourth, bringing her total to 25 after adding two more later in the quarter, capping another fantastic performance for the Bruins' leading scorer.
While IU did put several points on the board in the closing minutes, it still ended the fourth quarter with a poor shooting mark, going 5-for-17 and reverting to the struggles seen in the first half.
UCLA also faltered in the final minutes, shooting just 5-of-13 in the fourth quarter. However, with their lead firmly established, the outcome was never in doubt.
This closed out a second half that began with fireworks but ended just as sluggishly as the game started. UCLA maintained a comfortable lead throughout.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of the fourth quarter, UCLA improved to 15-0, while Indiana’s six-game win streak was snapped, dropping the Hoosiers to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Indiana resumes action Wednesday at Northwestern.
FINAL STATS
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