Tied with its rival going into the fourth quarter of a first-round game of the Pac-12 Tournament, the UCLA women’s basketball team maintained its poise on Wednesday night.
The Bruins had been in similar positions throughout a season that has included plenty of adversity, so a tight tussle with USC was no time to panic.
Ilmar’l Thomas scored 18 points and Angela Dugalić came off the bench to post a double-double to help UCLA pull away for a 73-60 victory over USC on Wednesday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
“I’m super proud of us in the fourth quarter,” UCLA junior Charisma Osborne said, referring to a period in which the Bruins outscored the Trojans 27-14 and outrebounded them 16-8. “In the third quarter people are gonna punch back and then we just let them keep punching.
“This game, we were prepared and we knew that we had to continue to fight in the fourth quarter.”
Thomas sank 8 of 14 shots from the floor for the seventh-seeded Bruins (14-11). Dugalić, a sophomore, had 13 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the third of her career. Osborne had 14 points and five rebounds, while Jaelynn Penn contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Dugalić, a redshirt freshman, has only participated in three practices since October and made her first game appearance of the season on Feb. 11 after recovering from an injury.
“I’m really proud to wear these four letters across my chest,” said Dugalić, who transferred from Oregon at the start of this season. “Watching them practice all the time, I keep trying to learn.”
Thomas had 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half to spark UCLA to a 33-26 lead at intermission. The Bruins led despite shooting 33% overall and going just 1 for 10 from 3-point range. UCLA made up for it by using nine offensive rebounds to gain a 13-0 advantage in second-chance points.
The Bruins maintained their lead in the third quarter until USC’s Jordan Sanders sank two free throws with three seconds left to knot the score at 46. UCLA took a 52-48 lead on back-to-back baskets by Penn and Chantel Horvat. After Jordyn Jenkins made the first of two free throws for the Trojans, Penn connected from beyond the arc to ignite a 21-11 game-ending run.
Sanders paced the 10th-seeded Trojans (12-16) with 18 points. Freshman Rayah Marshall added 17 points and 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double.
“I grew mentally and physically stronger (this season),” Marshall said. “I really, really, really hate losing. So next time around, I’m gonna carry this same feeling and take it out on whoever’s on the other side.”
UCLA, which outrebounded USC 45-31, swept the season series and has beaten the Trojans six consecutive times.
The Bruins advance to face second-seeded Oregon (19-10) in a quarterfinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. The two teams met in mid-February, with the Ducks winning 67-53 at home.
“We were not the aggressors in the first half,” UCLA coach Cori Close said of Wednesday’s win. “And if you want a chance to get a victory versus Oregon, you better be the aggressor for 40 minutes.”
NOTES
UCLA is 4-0 all-time against USC in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Bruins’ win evens the all-time series at 50-50. UCLA beat Stanford, 85-76, in overtime in 2006 for its only conference tourney title.
News services contributed to this story.
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