Kiki Rice helps power No. 1 UCLA to blowout victory over Creighton

SAN FRANCISCO —  Kiki Rice scored 20 points and No. 1 UCLA raced out to a big lead on its way to a 70-41 win over Creighton on Friday night in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic, winning without top player Lauren Betts.

Angela Dugalić added 13 points and 14 rebounds for her second double-double for the Bruins (12-0, 1-0 Big Ten), whose stingy defense made Creighton’s top shooters uncomfortable.

Morgan Maly scored 15 points to lead the Bluejays (9-3, 1-0 Big East), whose eight-game winning streak was snapped.

UCLA Sports

No. 1 UCLA overcomes absence of Lauren Betts in dominating win over Cal Poly

Janiah Barker, Angela Dugalić and Londynn Jones each score 12 points to lead No. 1 UCLA to a dominating 69-37 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Dec. 16, 2024

The 6-foot-7 Betts sat out a second straight game with a leg injury she sustained against Long Beach State on Dec. 14. She averages team-bests of 19.8 points and 10.0 rebounds.

Creighton leading scorer Lauren Jensen was held to four points on two-of-15 shooting after coming into the game averaging 19.1 points.

Takeaways

Creighton: It was one for 13 in the opening quarter, missing all five of its threes to fall behind in a hurry and finishing five of 22 from deep. ... The Bluejays are 0-4 in the series, having lost to UCLA 67-63 in the second round of last season’s NCAA tournament.

UCLA: Rice shot eight for 13 and also had five rebounds and four assists. ... Freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo increased her team-leading assists total to 63 through the first 12 games of her collegiate career.

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Key moment: UCLA shot 11 for 22 in the opening quarter — four of six from three-point range — to jump to a 26-4 lead.

Key stat: UCLA held a commanding 59-26 rebounding advantage — 29-12 in the first half on the way to a 42-23 lead at the break. Janiah Barker grabbed 11.

Up next: UCLA hosts Nebraska on Dec. 29 while Creighton visits St. John’s on Dec. 28.