INDIANAPOLIS — The top seed was getting bullied.
Struggling on both ends of the court, UCLA did not look like one of the nation’s top women’s basketball teams for much of the first half Friday.
Eighth-seeded Washington was tougher, more disruptive defensively and more cohesive on offense.
With her team trailing by 10 points early in the second quarter of a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal, Bruins coach Cori Close called a timeout. If this held up, UCLA would become the second LA team to go down in as many days to the Huskies after they had knocked off USC.
Close’s message had its intended effect.
The Bruins scored the next 15 points to retake the lead in a back-and-forth game inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, eventually prevailing for a 78-60 victory.
UCLA made its big run thanks largely to lockdown defense, forcing the Huskies into four turnovers and six consecutive missed shots.
After having berated her team during an earlier timeout, Close said a softer approach was in order during the one preceding the big run.
“I think sometimes when you know you screwed up, sometimes it can, you know, get in sort of a negative loop in your head,” Close said, “so I just wanted to get them out of that negative loop and into what does it look like when we’re executing our scout? What does it look like when we take away the things we need to take away? Then trying to give them a focus on offense.”
After Washington (21-10) briefly regained the lead after halftime, the Bruins (29-1) took the lead for good on Kiki Rice’s 3-pointer midway through the quarter.
They won going away, leading by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter. Give their coach a huge assist.
What it means
A defeat this early in its conference tournament would have likely erased any hopes of UCLA becoming the top overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Now the Bruins can continue to challenge UConn for that designation on Selection Sunday.
Turning point
Close’s timeout with 6:25 left in the second quarter.
Her team went on a 15-0 run, turning a double-digit deficit into a five-point lead.
MVP
Continually imposing her will, UCLA center Lauren Betts dominated on both sides of the court.
The Big Ten Player and Defensive Player of the Year scored 26 points on 13-for-20 shooting to go with eight rebounds and two assists.
Up next
The Bruins will face the winner of the quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Minnesota and fifth-seeded Ohio State in a semifinal at 11 a.m. PST Saturday.
