LARAMIE, Wyo. — The UCLA women’s basketball team is making the most of its second season.

Charisma Osborne scored 20 points and Ilmar’l Thomas had 18 as the Bruins edged Wyoming, 82-81, in a triple-overtime thriller on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT.

Osborne scored the last four points of the game to secure the win after Thomas had sent the game into a second overtime with a layup with two seconds left.

“They became something tonight,” UCLA coach Cori Close said of her team. “I just thought the selflessness, the composure, the maturity really shined through. I’m really proud of just how much strength of character they showed tonight.”

After surviving a game that featured 23 lead changes, 11 ties and no lead of more than six points for either side, the Bruins (17-12) advance to face Oregon State (17-13) on Sunday at noon in Corvallis. The Beavers defeated New Mexico, 78-73. UCLA lost its only game against Oregon State during Pac-12 play, 72-58, on Jan. 30 in Corvallis, but Osborne missed that game.

Wyoming (17-13) was playing in its third overtime game of the WNIT and its second straight triple-overtime affair, but the Cowgirls could not generate the same result against the Bruins. Alba Sanchez Ramos and Quinn Weidemann led Wyoming with 21 points apiece.

UCLA overcame a cold start, taking a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter after Jaelynn Penn hit two 3-pointers in the final minute. UCLA grabbed a five-point lead with 4:27 left in the second quarter on a Thomas layup, but Wyoming came back on the strength of its 3-point shooting. The Cowgirls were 4 for 5 from behind the arc in the second quarter and 5 for 6 in the opening half.

UCLA hit its share from long range in the final two minutes, with both Thomas and Natalie Chou hitting go-ahead 3-pointers. An Osborne reverse layup with 44 seconds left helped give the Bruins a 32-30 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, UCLA opened a 39-33 lead on an Osborne 3-pointer, but Wyoming answered with a 6-0 run as neither team let the other pull too far ahead.

A 3-pointer by Weidemann gave Wyoming a 51-50 lead with 3:45 left in the fourth quarter, and the hosts looked poised to take control when they got a Sanchez Ramos layup and forced four UCLA misses over the next two minutes. Chou, however, answered with a 3-pointer with 1:27 left to tie it at 53-53.

@NatalieChou1 ties it up with 1:27 to play!

| https://t.co/tkkqn7PMpl#GoBruins | #WNIT pic.twitter.com/r3ak4YP44N

— UCLA W. Basketball (@UCLAWBB) March 25, 2022

UCLA kept Wyoming off the scoreboard from there and had an opportunity for the last shot of regulation. With the clock winding down, Osborne drove in for a layup but was blocked by Sanchez Ramos. With 3.8 seconds left, the Bruins got the ball to Osborne off an inbounds play, but her jumper rimmed out, sending the game into overtime.

In the first extra period, Thomas scored the Bruins’ first five points and gave them a three-point lead, but Wyoming regained the lead with a 6-0 run. A Penn layup with 1:16 left in overtime closed the gap to one, and the Bruins forced an airball on Wyoming’s next possession.

With 16 seconds remaining, Chantel Horvat missed on a banked jumper, but Thomas grabbed the rebound and appeared to score, but the go-ahead basket was waved off when Thomas was called for an offensive foul before the shot. Wyoming made one of two free throws to take a 62-60 lead with 12 seconds left, but Thomas tied it again on a layup with three seconds left.

@youngmari23 TIES IT with 2 seconds left, and this game is going to a SECOND OVERTIME.

UCLA 62, Wyoming 62

| https://t.co/tkkqn7PMpl#GoBruins | #WNIT pic.twitter.com/YWC8ODGkuO

— UCLA W. Basketball (@UCLAWBB) March 25, 2022

Wyoming had a 73-70 lead with 15 seconds left in the second overtime when Osborne was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Osborne made all three, then Wyoming missed on a 3-point attempt. Osborne grabbed the rebound and went the length of the court for a layup attempt, but her shot did not fall and the game headed to a third overtime.

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A three-point play by Chou in the third overtime gave UCLA a 78-76 lead with 1:45 left, and Osborne hit a jumper with 55 seconds left to extend the lead to four. Wiedemann answered with a layup with 17 seconds left to get Wyoming within 80-78, then the Cowgirls fouled Osborne, who hit both free throws to make it a two-possession game again. Tommi Olson hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left, but the Bruins successfully inbounded the ball and ran it out until time expired.

Osborne was 7 for 24 from the field and added nine rebounds and five assists in her 50 minutes, while Thomas shot 8 for 16 and had 10 rebounds in 42 minutes before fouling out. Penn had 14 points and Chou scored 13. Chantel Horvat had eight points and five rebounds.

Allyson Fertig added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Wyoming, while McKinley Bradshaw had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

UCLA had a 46-32 lead in points in the paint and a 24-10 advantage in points off turnovers. UCLA turned it over just 10 times in 55 minutes, while Wyoming turned it over 25 times.

That’s how you get it done

A 3OT THRILLER sees @UCLAWBB advance to the #WNIT quarterfinals. #BackThePac | #Pac12WBB pic.twitter.com/kHitG4jhJj

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 25, 2022

“They became something tonight. I just thought the selflessness, the composure, the maturity really shined through. I’m really proud of just how much strength of character they showed tonight.” – @CoachCoriClose on the Bruins’ effort in triple overtime pic.twitter.com/i7I46nb9zb

— UCLA W. Basketball (@UCLAWBB) March 25, 2022