No. 5 UCLA women’s basketball takes down top-ranked South Carolina

LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team rode a dominant first half to knock off No. 1 and defending national champion South Carolina, 77-62, on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks’ overall 43-game winning streak and their run of 33 consecutive road victories.

The Gamecocks (5-1) lost for the first time since April 2023, when Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat them in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals.

The No. 5 Bruins welcomed South Carolina to a sold-out Pauley Pavilion in the best way they knew possible:

Gamecocks star Chloe Kitts went up for a jumper just in time for 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts to get a hand on the ball for a forceful block that sent Kitts to the floor as the opening quarter came to a close. The Bruins had double the amount of points as the Gamecocks in that moment.

And yet, UCLA head coach Cori Close wanted more of her team:

“Whatever the score is,” she told the crowd at halftime, “I know we can play better.”

Betts continues to average a double-double and recorded 11 points and 14 rebounds in the game. Londynn Jones scored 15 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range.

Elina Aarnisalo and Gabriela Jaquez also finished in double-digit scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

“At the end of the day, we know what we want to do at the end of the season: We want to win a national championship,” Betts said. “It’s taking each practice as preparation and just keeping those same habits every single day.”

South Carolina was scoring an average of 45.6 points in the paint heading into the game, but UCLA had limited them to 18. Kitts, who averages a team-leading 14 points for South Carolina, finished with 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting.

The Bruins shook off a choppy start in which the shots weren’t falling and took off on an 11-0 run in the first quarter.

It was unclear who would start at point guard between Aarnisalo, a freshman, and Kiki Rice, who was day-to-day with an injury. UCLA had both of them in the starting rotation and reaped benefits from Rice’s scoring abilities and Aarnisalo’s IQ.

The Finnish hooper had a steal that led to a layup for UCLA’s first points of the game and she continuously came up with athletic plays throughout the game. She hit a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer from the top of the key in a matter of three minutes in the second quarter as the Bruins entered the break with a 43-22 advantage.

“I thought (Aarnisalo) had gotten our offense in a rhythm,” Close said. “And so it’s just a choice that I made. “I tell them every day, hold ‘starting’ really loosely. I could care less who starts. It’s just a matter of who do I think is going to help us have the best start and then let’s see who’s playing well and then they try to move the pieces from there.”

The Gamecocks found rhythm in transition as they trudged on but were unable to put together a run of more than five points at a time. They switched their offensive attack to the perimeter but saw little success.

Meanwhile, UCLA’s success from range grew. Jones made a shot from beyond the arc to keep the Bruins ahead by 20 points and Janiah Barker made a three of her own shortly after to extend the lead to 57-36.

“It takes a lot of preparation,” Jones said of her 3-point shooting. “It’s something that I work on every morning and after practice. Just continuing to get those reps in and shout out to my team for getting me, those looks and getting me involved.”

The Bruins added 16 points in the fourth quarter to keep the celebratory mood alive. A corner three by Jones sent three fingers from each player flying into the air after a steal by Dugalić and assist by Rice.

The game was part of a big weekend in Los Angeles women’s basketball. No. 3 USC hosted No. 6 Notre Dame the night before and lost 74-61.

“This game is about our program and where we’re going, but also about the game of basketball,” Close said. “And I just think what we saw over the whole weekend, it’s so important to continue to grow our game.”