By the time the UCLA-USC game sold out last week, hype for the matchup was at a fever pitch. But so many questions remained.
Could the No. 2 Bruins play like a No. 1 team? Which one of their many scorers would step up? Could the No. 6 Trojans pull the upset behind their incredible freshman guard? Which team would remain undefeated after the final buzzer sounded?
Saturday’s 71-64 UCLA victory showed us what it takes to win when the stakes are at their highest. We learned about not just the teams, but what many of the individuals are about. And we understood that the future of women’s basketball in the Los Angeles area is even brighter than we imagined.
UCLA is a deep, skilled, unselfish team – the most dangerous kind
Center Lauren Betts, one of just two newcomers to the team this year, went into the rivalry game as their top scorer, with the best field goal percentage in Division I. But against USC she got off to a slow start and struggled to score, both from the field (she finished 5-11) and from the charity stripe (5-9).
Up stepped 5-4 guard Londynn Jones, one of five Bruins averaging double figures this year, to explode for 21 points. That included five 3-point shots – two of which came in the fourth quarter,…
