INDIANAPOLIS — UCLA women’s basketball shot so well in the Big Ten championship game, the power briefly went out during their postgame news conference.
“Don’t worry,” said Bruins coach Cori Close. “I have a coach’s voice.”
Behind that voice, No. 1 seed UCLA dominated No. 2 seed Iowa wire-to-wire during a historic 96-45 rout to claim the Big Ten tournament championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
“Everyone came out with a certain level of confidence,” UCLA center Lauren Betts said, “that I just knew we were going to win.”
UCLA guard Kiki Rice celebrates after receiving the Big Ten tournament most outstanding player honors after the Bruins beat Iowa and won the tournament title Sunday in Indianapolis.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
The 51-point win was the largest margin of victory in Big Ten tournament history, eclipsing the 33-point mark Iowa set during its 2023 win over Ohio State. UCLA’s 34 team assists were also a Big Ten tournament record and a season high for the Bruins.
In front of a Iowa-heavy crowd, the Bruins put up their best shooting game of the season at 63% from the field. Gianna Kneepkens tallied 19 points and all five starters reached double digits. Kiki Rice (15 points, eight assists) earned the tournament’s most outstanding player and Betts (10 points) was named to the all-tournament team.
“You can try to front Betts, and you can try to help off the corner, but they’re going to find the person that’s a pretty good three-point scorer,” said Iowa coach Jan Jensen. “[Sienna Betts] coming in, you might have a little dropoff, but today she was seven for eight. They just don’t have a lot of weaknesses offensively.”
It was UCLA’s 25th consecutive win dating back to November and its 18th Quadrant 1 win, the most in the country this season.
UCLA was blown out 85-51 by Connecticut in last year’s Final Four, and this season has been a mission to return to that spot and prove it belongs.
But this season’s group is also deeper. Rice is healthy, Charlisse Leger-Walker (11 points, five assists) is in the mix and Kneepkens joined from Utah.
“Last year, we were broken from our broken-heartedness from our loss to USC at home for the regular season UCLA women’s basketball makes history in Big Ten tournament win,” Close said. “There was this sense of incredibly rewarding thing to watch them respond in that way. But it was just such a different process [this year.] … [This Big Ten championship] definitely feels different, but rewarding, and I’m full of gratitude nonetheless.”
After Iowa (26-6, 15-3) held down Michigan in the semifinal, the Bruins (31-1, 18-0) returned the favor. The Hawkeyes tallied just five first-quarter points, their season-low in any period.
Iowa missed nine consecutive shots and committed four turnovers in a five-minute stretch during which UCLA mounted an 11-0 run. By the second quarter, the Bruins built a 25-point lead. UCLA scored netted back-to-back three-pointers in 25 seconds early in the third quarter to take a 32-point advantage — 55-23.
The Bruins relied on their defense to extend their lead. They forced 19 Iowa turnovers that led to 22 points in transition. They also held Iowa to 28% from the field.
“Every single night we take pride in our defense, and I think that’s what really ignited us today,” Rice said. “We obviously knocked down shots, but I think the way we got after it defensively and we can start like that. We start with a ton of pressure.”
Close was sure to find flaws too. She noted that the Bruins were 0 for 9 on offensive-rebound misses at halftime.
“I think the danger is, when you’re really efficient offensively, you just think every shot’s going in,” Close said. “The reality is on a night that you might not be as hot as we were tonight, you have to have the habits and the discipline to be able to chase offensive rebounds, get another passion play, find easier opportunities, set better screens.”
Next up is the stage that has fueled the Bruins’ hunger all season. UCLA will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, and where they go after will depend on what bracket they are in. As the No. 2 team in the country, they’re projected for a Sweet 16 and Elite Eight appearance in Sacramento.
But first, a week off, Selection Sunday and then the Bruins get back to their revenge tour.
Betts left the news conference room on Sunday with a personal speaker in her hand, and cranked the volume back up as soon as she opened the door to leave. She and Rice giggled, joy permeating before Close began to address the media. Then Close’s microphone malfunctioned.
After a few minutes, the microphones were fixed and Close’s first words were, in a way, the same message that UCLA is giving the nation heading into the NCAA tournament.
“Hello,” she said. “We’re back.”