Lauren Betts scores a career-high 31 points to lead No. 5 UCLA women over Colgate 81-63
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts had a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds and No. 5 UCLA defeated Colgate 81-63 on Sunday in the Bruins’ home opener.
The Bruins (2-0) were back in action for the first time since beating No. 17 Louisville 66-59 in Paris on Monday to open the women’s college basketball season.
Playing down low, Betts shot 15 of 18 from the floor and scored the Bruins’ first 12 points of the fourth before sitting down for good with 3:25 remaining. Her only blemish in the period were two missed free throws. She was 1 of 5 from the free-throw line.
The Raiders (2-1) were led by Anne Bair with 13 points and five assists. Taylor Golembiewski added 12 points and five rebounds and Sophia Diehl had 10 points and five rebounds.
Colgate: Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan came up short against her mentor, UCLA coach Cori Close. Adeduntan played at Florida State from 2002-06, when Close was an assistant for two seasons.
UCLA: The Bruins need to clean up their sloppy play quickly. They host No. 1 South Carolina in two weeks.
UCLA stretched its lead from 11 points to 22 in the third quarter. Betts scored eight points and freshman Elina Aarnisalo added seven, including five in a row during a 7-0 spurt. Colgate’s Golembiewski and Christina Midgette picked up their third fouls and the Raiders didn’t have a field-goal attempt over the final minutes of the quarter.
The Bruins committed 17 turnovers that led to 13 points for the Raiders. Aarnisalo had six and Londynn Jones four.
Colgate hosts Central Connecticut State on Friday. UCLA hosts Pepperdine on Tuesday in the second of four consecutive home games.
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This story corrects UCLA’s record to 2-0 instead of 3-0.
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