Friday, March 28
Spokane, Wash.
7:00 PM PT
UCLA
vs
Ole Miss
Photo by: Caren Nicdao
No. 1 Bruins Return to Sweet Sixteen against No. 5 Ole Miss Friday
March 27, 2025 | Women's Basketball
SPOKANE, Wash. – UCLA Women's Basketball returns to the Sweet 16 for the third-consecutive year Friday.
The No. 1-seeded Bruins (32-2) face No. 5 Ole Miss (22-10) to open their weekend in the Spokane 1 regional tournament. Friday night's quarterfinal will be held at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena after the conclusion of No. 2 NC State vs. No. 3 LSU. The game is expected to tip off shortly after 7 p.m. on ESPN.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Tip-off Time: 7 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN
TV Talent: Pam Ward, Stephanie White, Holly Rowe
Radio: UCLA Digital Radio, Westwood One (SiriusXM 211 or 204)
Radio Talent: Dave Marcus (UCLA), Lance Medow and Kim Adams (Westwood One)
MATCHUP HISTORY: vs. Ole Miss Rebels
• Friday's meeting will be the first in program history.
LAST TIME OUT: W, 84-67 vs. No. 8-Seed Richmond (Sunday, March 23)
• Junior Lauren Betts became the first Bruin to record 30 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's win over the Spiders. She finished with 30 (14-17 FG) and 14 boards, marking the fourth 30-point outing by a UCLA player in postseason history.
• Junior Kiki Rice poured in 23 points on 4-6 shooting from long range (7-12 FG). The PG had seven assists and one turnover; she's had 14 assists and only one cough-up to lead the NCAA during the first two games of the tournament in A/TO ratio.
WHAT'S BRUIN
• Five Bruins earned B1G postseason honors, as announced by the league office on Tuesday, March 4. Lauren Betts was named the unanimous Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches and made the cut for All-Big Ten First Team and All-Defensive Team. She was joined by Kiki Rice on the All-Big Ten First Team; Rice was also UCLA's B1G Sportsmanship Honoree. Junior Janiah Barker was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year by coaches and media. Gabriela Jaquez (media) and Londynn Jones (coaches) were tabbed as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
• Betts was named First Team All-America by the Associated Press, marking the first time a Bruin has collected that honor in program history. She was also named USBWA First Team All-America, joining Natalie Williams (1993, 1994) as a first teamer from Westwood. Rice was also named AP All-America Honorable Mention on Wednesday, March 19.
• Coach Cori Close was named USBWA Coach of the Year on Thursday, March 20, and she's one of four finalists for the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year. Coach Tony Newnan was named WBCA NCAA DI Assistant Coach of the Year on Wednesday, March 26.
• The Bruins have four players averaging 5+ RPG: Betts (9.7 RPG, 301 REB), Barker (6.1 RPG, 202 REB), Dugalić (5.8 RPG, 185 REB) and Jaquez (5.2 RPG, 170 REB); and seven players averaging 7+ PPG: Betts (19.7), Rice (13.1), Jaquez (9.7), Jones (8.8), Gardiner (7.7), Dugalić (7.7), and Barker (7.5).
• The Bruins are among the top five in the Big Ten in A/TO ratio (2nd - 1.38), blocks (2nd - 5.4 BPG), offensive boards (2nd - 13.9 ORPG), 3FG defense (3rd - .291 3FG%), scoring offense (3rd - 78.9 PPG) and scoring margin (2nd - +21.4).
• The Bruins have led wire-to-wire in 16 of the 31 wins and have claimed 10 ranked victories this season. All but four wins have been by 10+ points this year (vs. Louisville, Michigan State, at Iowa, vs. USC).
• UCLA won 23-straight wins - 22 were by a double-digit margin - setting the longest streak for both records in program history. UCLA's previous-best win streak came in the 1977-78 campaign (21 games).
• The Bruins boast 9 McDonald's All Americans on the roster: Janiah Barker, Lauren Betts, Kendall Dudley, Angela Dugalić, Timea Gardiner, Gabriela Jaquez, Amanda Muse, Kiki Rice, and Zania Socka-Nguemen. Jaquez and Rice shared co-MVP honors, and Londynn Jones - while not a McDAAG participant - placed second in the high school three-point contest in 2022.
I'LL HAVE THE NO. 1, PLEASE
• UCLA claimed the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll after defeating then-No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 24. The Bruins sat atop the AP poll for 12 weeks, setting the record for the longest streak at No. 1 for a Big Ten WBB program in conference history after nine weeks at the top spot. UCLA reclaimed No. 1 after taking down USC in the B1G tournament championship game and finished the regular season back on top of the polls.
• As a team, the Bruins rank No. 1 in the Big Ten in seven statistical categories: assists per game (20.8 APG), field goal percentage (.482 FG%), field goal percentage defense (.353 DFG%), rebound margin (+13.0), defensive rebounds (29.2 DRPG), rebounds per game (43.1 RPG), and scoring defense (57.6 OPPG). UCLA has only been outrebounded twice this season season (Dec. 8 at Washington, 32-30; March 9 vs. USC, 38-27).
• The Bruins rank first in the nation in rebounding margin (+13.0) and 6th in the nation in defensive field goal percentage - holding opponents to .353 FG% on the year.
• Betts leads the Big Ten in blocks (90) and blocks per game (2.9 BPG).
The No. 1-seeded Bruins (32-2) face No. 5 Ole Miss (22-10) to open their weekend in the Spokane 1 regional tournament. Friday night's quarterfinal will be held at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena after the conclusion of No. 2 NC State vs. No. 3 LSU. The game is expected to tip off shortly after 7 p.m. on ESPN.
GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Tip-off Time: 7 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN
TV Talent: Pam Ward, Stephanie White, Holly Rowe
Radio: UCLA Digital Radio, Westwood One (SiriusXM 211 or 204)
Radio Talent: Dave Marcus (UCLA), Lance Medow and Kim Adams (Westwood One)
MATCHUP HISTORY: vs. Ole Miss Rebels
• Friday's meeting will be the first in program history.
LAST TIME OUT: W, 84-67 vs. No. 8-Seed Richmond (Sunday, March 23)
• Junior Lauren Betts became the first Bruin to record 30 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's win over the Spiders. She finished with 30 (14-17 FG) and 14 boards, marking the fourth 30-point outing by a UCLA player in postseason history.
• Junior Kiki Rice poured in 23 points on 4-6 shooting from long range (7-12 FG). The PG had seven assists and one turnover; she's had 14 assists and only one cough-up to lead the NCAA during the first two games of the tournament in A/TO ratio.
WHAT'S BRUIN
• Five Bruins earned B1G postseason honors, as announced by the league office on Tuesday, March 4. Lauren Betts was named the unanimous Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches and made the cut for All-Big Ten First Team and All-Defensive Team. She was joined by Kiki Rice on the All-Big Ten First Team; Rice was also UCLA's B1G Sportsmanship Honoree. Junior Janiah Barker was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year by coaches and media. Gabriela Jaquez (media) and Londynn Jones (coaches) were tabbed as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
• Betts was named First Team All-America by the Associated Press, marking the first time a Bruin has collected that honor in program history. She was also named USBWA First Team All-America, joining Natalie Williams (1993, 1994) as a first teamer from Westwood. Rice was also named AP All-America Honorable Mention on Wednesday, March 19.
• Coach Cori Close was named USBWA Coach of the Year on Thursday, March 20, and she's one of four finalists for the 2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year. Coach Tony Newnan was named WBCA NCAA DI Assistant Coach of the Year on Wednesday, March 26.
• The Bruins have four players averaging 5+ RPG: Betts (9.7 RPG, 301 REB), Barker (6.1 RPG, 202 REB), Dugalić (5.8 RPG, 185 REB) and Jaquez (5.2 RPG, 170 REB); and seven players averaging 7+ PPG: Betts (19.7), Rice (13.1), Jaquez (9.7), Jones (8.8), Gardiner (7.7), Dugalić (7.7), and Barker (7.5).
• The Bruins are among the top five in the Big Ten in A/TO ratio (2nd - 1.38), blocks (2nd - 5.4 BPG), offensive boards (2nd - 13.9 ORPG), 3FG defense (3rd - .291 3FG%), scoring offense (3rd - 78.9 PPG) and scoring margin (2nd - +21.4).
• The Bruins have led wire-to-wire in 16 of the 31 wins and have claimed 10 ranked victories this season. All but four wins have been by 10+ points this year (vs. Louisville, Michigan State, at Iowa, vs. USC).
• UCLA won 23-straight wins - 22 were by a double-digit margin - setting the longest streak for both records in program history. UCLA's previous-best win streak came in the 1977-78 campaign (21 games).
• The Bruins boast 9 McDonald's All Americans on the roster: Janiah Barker, Lauren Betts, Kendall Dudley, Angela Dugalić, Timea Gardiner, Gabriela Jaquez, Amanda Muse, Kiki Rice, and Zania Socka-Nguemen. Jaquez and Rice shared co-MVP honors, and Londynn Jones - while not a McDAAG participant - placed second in the high school three-point contest in 2022.
I'LL HAVE THE NO. 1, PLEASE
• UCLA claimed the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll after defeating then-No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 24. The Bruins sat atop the AP poll for 12 weeks, setting the record for the longest streak at No. 1 for a Big Ten WBB program in conference history after nine weeks at the top spot. UCLA reclaimed No. 1 after taking down USC in the B1G tournament championship game and finished the regular season back on top of the polls.
• As a team, the Bruins rank No. 1 in the Big Ten in seven statistical categories: assists per game (20.8 APG), field goal percentage (.482 FG%), field goal percentage defense (.353 DFG%), rebound margin (+13.0), defensive rebounds (29.2 DRPG), rebounds per game (43.1 RPG), and scoring defense (57.6 OPPG). UCLA has only been outrebounded twice this season season (Dec. 8 at Washington, 32-30; March 9 vs. USC, 38-27).
• The Bruins rank first in the nation in rebounding margin (+13.0) and 6th in the nation in defensive field goal percentage - holding opponents to .353 FG% on the year.
• Betts leads the Big Ten in blocks (90) and blocks per game (2.9 BPG).
Players Mentioned
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