LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team often blocks off a portion of its practice to run over actions intended to feed a player who has the “hot hand.”
On Wednesday, head coach Cori Close chose Londynn Jones to be that player.
For 15 minutes, each set was created for her to be the go-to scoring option. She’d pop off elevator screens, curl to the basket and shoot off the catch.
“Londynn is our leading 3-point shooter,” Close said Thursday. “So for us to learn how to create easier threes for her, that’s an important team thing. … As a coach, when you prepare for something and then you get a chance to execute it with high efficiency, that’s always really good.”
That drill showed its worth on Thursday night when Jones scored a career-high 23 points and made a career-high seven 3-point shots as the 12th-ranked Bruins never trailed while routing No. 18 Utah, 82-52, to avenge an overtime loss a month ago.
While Wednesday’s drill was curated to Jones, it seemed like it could have been anyone in that spot based on the Bruins’ offensive showing on Thursday. They shot 49% from the field and 39% from 3-point range, assisting on 24 of their 32 field goals.
Lauren Betts had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Bruins (21-5 overall, 10-5 Pac-12), while Charisma Osborne had 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Betts anchored a defense that held Utah (19-8, 9-6) – the NCAA’s No. 6 offense in points per game – to its second-lowest total of the season and it was her presence in the paint that helped spark Jones’ outburst.
UCLA, which snapped a three-game skid against the Utes after losing 94-81 in Salt Lake City, started the rematch on a 12-0 run that was sparked by its defense and Betts’ quick decision-making on offense.
The Utes sent a double team at Betts on each catch and she navigated it with quick post moves, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half.
“I struggled with that a lot the last time we played them,” Betts said of Utah’s pesky coverage. “That’s what we worked on all week in practice, so I was prepared for today.”
The Utes briefly cut the margin to nine in the third quarter, but the Bruins extended their lead quickly after by getting it inside to Betts, who embraced the defensive double-teams and sprayed the ball to open teammates on the perimeter.
The Bruins outscored the Utes 20-9 in the third quarter, Jones hitting three 3-pointers during that run. Betts launched that spurt by grabbing Kiki Rice’s missed 3-point attempt and scoring. A couple of plays later, Betts snagged a defensive rebound and passed to Rice, who fed Angela Dugalic for a basket. Rice finished with 13 points and six assists.
Jones made two more 3-pointers in the fourth.
The Bruins’ 30-point victory was also a product of their execution of the defensive game plan, which Close said Wednesday was to force the Utes – the nation’s second-ranked team in 3-pointers per game – into tough two-point attempts.
On Thursday, Utah made just three 3-pointers and shot 14 for 38 from 2-point range.
It was an effort that started with the Bruins’ approach to guarding Alissa Pili. Pili led the Utes with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but she was an inefficient 5-of-13 shooting from the field, often deterred by Betts’ length. She scored half of her points by making all 10 of her free-throw attempts.
“She’s super tough. A lot of respect for her,” said Betts, who at 6-foot-7 had a 5-inch advantage over Pili. “I think just staying in front and not letting her get easy touches inside, especially in the paint because when she does it’s pretty much over.”
Pili had just four points in the third period, as the Bruins took control.
“This really means a lot because to play the kind of defense we played against one of the best offensive teams in the country I just think earns us a lot of confidence,” Close said. “This was our best defensive execution of a game plan all year long.”
To get their leading scorer going, the Utes put her in ball screen actions that forced a guard to switch onto Pili in the post. UCLA countered that by hounding entry passes and creating turnovers that led to transition opportunities.
Osborne and Jones both had two steals and the Bruins scored 26 of their 82 points off of 20 Utah turnovers.
“I’m really passionate about defense,” Jones said.
On a night when Jones set two career highs, Close was more impressed with her defense because she had challenged her point guard to focus on that side of the ball and the effort showed.
It was present with Jones, but also across the board in a way that helped UCLA’s argument for hosting during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA remains in a tight conference race with two weekends left in the regular season, and the Bruins are trying to keep their focus by tuning out. No sneaking a peek at the standings. No scrolling through social media.
“It’s most important for our team to just not seek validation from other people,” Betts said. “I just think having confidence within ourselves and just making sure we keep pushing each other every single day in practice, that’s going to be the most important thing for us.
“If we play the way we did today, no one’s going to be able to stop us,” she said.
NOTE
Utah’s Jenna Johnson caught an elbow in the head from Christeen Iwuala in the first quarter. She was bloodied and left the court to get stitches. She returned after halftime but didn’t score.
Londynn Jones drops career-high 23 points as No. 12 UCLA routs No. 18 Utah! 🐻@Vegas highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/IzGrXCmbIT
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) February 23, 2024