No. 2 UCLA women’s basketball rolls past Wisconsin

LOS ANGELES — One by one, with their families at their hip, the seniors walked down the line, shook their teammates’ hands, hugged their coaches, received their flowers and heard the praise for the sacrifices they made to the UCLA women’s basketball team.

Then, one by one, each made a significant contribution to the Bruins’ 80-60 win against Wisconsin on Sunday. Each got on the scoresheet within the first quarter. Each scrapped to protect the glass. Each had their teammates’ backs on defense, and made the extra pass on offense.

Lauren Betts led the Bruins (27-1, 17-0 Big Ten) with 19 points, grabbing 14 rebounds for a no-doubt double-double. Gabriela Jaquez scored 17 points, grabbed seven boards, hustling for four on the offensive glass. Gianna Kneepkens and Kiki Rice each added 13 points, while sophomore Sienna Betts came off the bench to block three shots.

After No. 6 Michigan’s loss to No. 13 Iowa, UCLA entered Sunday afternoon having already clinched sole possession of the Big Ten regular-season title. Seemingly, that relaxed their effort; their mind focused on celebrating the core six.

Wisconsin (13-15, 5-12) took advantage, sticking around throughout the first half. Ronnie Porter and Jovana Spasovski made jump shots to bring the Badgers within eight. Porter hit a 3-pointer early in the second half to make it a seven-point game.

The Bruins locked in midway through the third quarter. Betts and Jaquez each converted a 3-point play. Charlisse Leger-Walker and Angela Dugalic hit 3-pointers. Sienna Betts battled for a putback to put UCLA ahead 18.

Early in the fourth quarter, Betts spun into a fade-away jumper, wagging her tongue after swishing the shot. Dugalic went coast-to-coast for a layup.

With 20 seconds left, Rice took the ball from Lily Krahn, who scored 13 points for Wisconsin, and scored a layup before head coach Cori Close called timeout. Close subbed out each senior to the sound of standing ovations. They celebrated their moment with a team-wide circle, bouncing with joy.

It wasn’t the dominance UCLA expected against a team as low in the Big Ten standings as Wisconsin is, but it was an emotional afternoon in Westwood and the Bruins got the job done.

With senior day behind them, the Bruins can shift their focus to a rivalry game with USC and postseason hopes that loom close.