No. 1 UCLA takes down No. 8 Ohio State in top-10 clash
🏆 UCLA dominates fourth quarter overcoming Ohio State 65-52
No. 1 UCLA put together a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to defeat No. 8 Ohio State, 65-52 and mark its longest win streak in program history at 22 games.
Lauren Betts led the Bruins with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double, followed by 17 points and six rebounds from Gabriela Jaquez. Jaquez put up 11 points in the fourth, going 5-for-6 from the field to help the Bruins breakaway from the Buckeyes.
With the win, UCLA sits at 22-0 overall and 9-0 in conference standings while Ohio State drops to No. 3 in the Big Ten, sitting at 9-1 in conference play and 20-2 overall.
The Buckeyes struck first, startling their undefeated hosts with lockdown defense, forcing five UCLA turnovers in the opening minutes of the game. Ohio State converted those turnovers into seven points for a 13-9 lead by the first media timeout.
Recovering from the slow first quarter, Lauren Betts jump-started the Bruins offense with a 10-point second quarter to finish with a double-double by the end of the first half.
Ohio State’s momentum cooled off with Betts’ rise, as star forward Cotie McMahon was held to just four points across the first half, going 1-for-8 from the field.
However, McMahon was the spark the Buckeyes needed to stay in it come the third quarter. McMahon and freshman Jaloni Cambridge combined to steer the Buckeyes to an 11-8 run, bringing Ohio State within three points of the Bruins and forcing a UCLA timeout with 3:20 left in the third.
McMahon then went on for six consecutive points, knocking down a jumper in the final seconds of the third to lift Ohio State within a single possession of the Bruins, 44-42.
The Buckeye momentum didn’t last very long. Kiki Rice opened the fourth quarter with four consecutive points for the Bruins. Rice and Jacquez combined for 17 of UCLA’s 21 fourth-quarter points. McMahon was held to just two points after a dominant third quarter.
🔥 UCLA assumes largest lead of the night | Q4, 4:39
The Bruins continued to pile onto their fourth quarter run, racking up a 13-point lead and forcing Ohio State to use another timeout.
🐻 Bruins get hot! | Q4, 6:29
UCLA responded with an 8-1 run to take a 52-45 lead and force an Ohio State timeout, driven by six points from Kiki Rice.
Kiki is in attack mode! She's got 4⃣-straight to start the quarter, which forces an Ohio State timeout!
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB)
Media break! ⏸️
4Q | 8:34
Ohio State - 44
UCLA - 48
🤯 UCLA clings to lead | Q3 ends, 44-42
Janiah Barker helped the Bruins fend off McMahon and Cambridge, playing through foul trouble for four points in the final two minutes of the third.
McMahon brought the Buckeyes within a single possession of the Bruins to end the third, sinking a jumper in the paint.
Clock in and go to work, JB! 💰
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB)
📺: Peacock |
🌰 Cambridge and McMahon keep the Buckeyes in it | 3Q - 3:11
As Ohio State continued to look for answers for Betts, freshman Jaloni Cambridge and McMahon combined forces to fuel the Buckeyes to an 11-8 run and force a UCLA timeout. Ohio State is now just three points behind UCLA, 38-35. ;
McMahon went for six consecutive points, knocking down a jumper and finishing in the paint twice. The duo currently headline the Buckeyes with 10 points each.
Back to back buckets from Cotie pulls us within 3 🗣️
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB)
📺 Peacock |
🏀 HALFTIME: UCLA 30, Ohio State 24
The Bruins held onto their lead after Ohio State freshman Elsa Lemmilä chipped in four points off the bench to help the Buckeyes trim the deficit back down to single digits.
Lauren Betts notched another double-double by halftime, with a team-high 13 points and 10 rebounds. With Betts’ help, the Bruins outrebounded Ohio State 26-19.
UCLA held Cotie McMahon to just four points in the half, going 1-for-8 from the field.
🔥 UCLA surges to double-digit lead | Q2 4:40
The Bruins held the Buckeyes to just two points by the second media timeout. Lauren Betts fueled UCLA's 8-2 run with six points and four rebounds just five minutes into the second quarter.
😤 UCLA takes lead | 1Q ends, 18-16
UCLA closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run, and reclaimed the lead after a 3-pointer from Angela Dugalić tied it at 16-16.
ANGELAAAAA DU-IT-ALL-GALIĆ 👌👌👌
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB)
📺: Peacock | x
🔒 Buckeye defense impacting early
Ohio State’s defense forced five UCLA turnovers in the first few minutes of the game, converting them to seven points off turnovers for a 13-9 lead at the first media timeout.
Three different Buckeyes recorded steals, with two coming from its bench.
🏀 It's game time!
Starting 5️⃣
The starting five for each group is set.
🐻 UCLA:
Wednesday's first five! 🤩
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB)
1⃣ -
3⃣ -
1⃣1⃣ -
3⃣2⃣ -
5⃣1⃣ -
🌰 Ohio State:
The Buckeyes Starting Five tonight 🆚 UCLA‼️
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB)
🔴 Jaloni Cambridge
🔴 Chance Gray
🔴 Cotie McMahon
🔴 Taylor Thierry
🔴 Ajae Petty
🚨 Game Delay: Tip-off pushed to 9:50
The top-10 matchup is now set tip-off of at 9:50 p.m. ET due to arena complications.
UPDATE: The Game will be tipping off at 9:50 ET on Peacock due to complications within the Arena.
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB)
Both teams are warming up as we speak. Tip off coming in an hour ‼️
🧵 New threads…who this?
The Bruins will don their Retro Uniforms in tonight’s matchup against the Buckeyes. The throwback jerseys were announced last February, to call back to the program’s rich history and celebrate its 50th anniversary. The jerseys are a homage to the 1978 National Championship team, which defeated Maryland 90-74 at Pauley Pavilion in the AIAW tournament.
Breaking out the 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 for tomorrow’s game against the Buckeyes! 🌰
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB)
🎟️:
🤝 February's 1st bracket prediction
Autumn Johnson revealed her third bracket predictions of the year as we get one step closer to Selection Sunday and March Madness. UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Southern California are the No. 1 seeds, with the undefeated Bruins being the overall top seed.
2025 March Madness women's bracket predictions
View the entire table by scrolling/swiping to the left.
| SEED | Spokane 1 | Birmingham 2 | Spokane 4 | Birmingham 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA | South Carolina | Southern California | Notre Dame |
| 16 | Longwood/Eastern Illinois | Fairleigh Dickinson/Texas Southern | Wofford | North Carolina A&T |
| 8 | Oregon | Creighton | South Dakota State | Mississippi State |
| 9 | Richmond | Louisville | Michigan | Illinois |
| 5 | Georgia Tech | Michigan State | Ole Miss | Maryland |
| 12 | Middle Tennessee | Florida Gulf Coast | UNLV | Belmont |
| 4 | Oklahoma | North Carolina | Duke | Tennessee |
| 13 | Montana State | Fairfield | Hawaii | James Madison |
| 6 | West Virginia | Vanderbilt | Cal | Alabama |
| 11 | Harvard/Stanford | Iowa State/Virginia Tech | Iowa | UTSA |
| 3 | Kentucky | Kansas State | TCU | NC State |
| 14 | Grand Canyon | Norfolk State | Gonzaga | Ball State |
| 7 | Florida State | Baylor | Utah | Oklahoma State |
| 10 | Minnesota | Columbia | Nebraska | Indiana |
| 2 | LSU | Ohio State | Texas | UConn |
| 15 | UAlbany | Southeastern Louisiana | Purdue Fort Wayne | Lehigh |
Last Four in: Virginia Tech, Harvard, Stanford, Iowa State
First Four out: Washington, Florida, Arizona, Colorado
➡️ Watch Autumn Johnson's full breakdown here.
⭐️ Latest Power 10 rankings
NCAA Digital's Autumn Johnson dropped her latest Power 10 rankings. UCLA maintained the top spot, while Ohio State kept steady at No. 8. The full Power 10 rankings are below, with UCLA and OSU in bold.
- UCLA (Previously 1)
- South Carolina (Previously 2)
- Notre Dame (Previously 3)
- UConn (Previously 5),
- Texas (Previously 6)
- LSU (Previously 7)
- Southern California (Previously 4)
- Ohio State (Previously 8)
- TCU (Previously 10)
- Duke ( Previously NR)
➡️ Click or tap here for a breakdown of each of Autumn's picks