No. 2 UCLA tops Creighton, earns matchup with LSU

Field Level Media|published: Mon 25th March, 23:08 2024

Mar 8, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Kiki Rice (1) dribbles against the USC Trojans during the first quarter at MGM Grand Garden Arena. credits: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Kiki Rice scored 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting and No. 2 seed UCLA rallied for a 67-63 win over No. 7 seed Creighton in the second round of the Women's NCAA Tournament on Monday in Los Angeles.

Lauren Betts added 20 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA (27-6). The Bruins advanced to Region 2 semifinals, where they will tip off against No. 3 seed LSU — the defending national champion — on Saturday in Albany, N.Y.

Lauren Jensen scored 20 points to lead Creighton (26-6). Morgan Maly finished with 18 points, and Emma Ronsiek chipped in 14.

UCLA trailed by 10 points with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter when Mallory Brake made a layup to put Creighton on top 44-34.

The Bruins outscored Creighton 33-19 the rest of the way.

UCLA finished the third quarter with a 22-14 advantage, and it outmuscled Creighton for an 11-7 advantage during a hard-fought fourth quarter.

The Bruins finished with a 40-22 edge in rebounds, including a 12-4 margin in offensive rebounds. UCLA had a 14-5 advantage in second-chance points.

Creighton managed only four points from its bench. UCLA tallied 12 bench points, including eight from Gabriela Jaquez, to help the Bruins advance to the next round.

—Field Level Media