UCLA Women’s Basketball Cruises Past Washington State, 67-48

The UCLA Bruins looked to redeem themselves today against the Washington State Cougars. After losing to Washington State in Pullman in early January, the Bruins had a lot to prove. They did just that after comfortably defeating the Cougars, 67-48.

With today’s game being the last home game of the regular season, UCLA honored the three seniors on the team. Kari Korver, Dominque Williams, and Nicole Kornet were all honored before the game and given the start in their last home game at the Pauley Pavilion.

With Jordin Canada once again starting on the bench, it was going to be up to the other players to get the scoring started. Right away, Monique Billings opened the scoring when she aggressively took the ball to the glass for the first two points for the Bruins. This would not be the first time Billings made that kind of play. All game long she played an aggressive game going to the glass and getting the rebounds. She ended up tying her record of 25 rebounds in a single game. She brought the same fire that she played with on Friday night against Washington over and over against Washington State.

Washington State played a good game defensively. They applied pressure on the Bruins all game long. They played man-to-man coverage, hoping that would slow down UCLA’s powerhouse offense. At times, that would happen, but the Bruins found ways to make their shots. Offensively, the Cougars could not get it done. From the three-point line, they had a game to forget. They only made a handful of shots from the arc even though they took many attempts. Washington State was also missing three players due to injury including freshman Chanelle Molina, who is recovering from an ACL tear.

UCLA played much better this week. The Bruins need to continue this kind of play with them to Arizona on their final road trip of the season. The Bruins’ defense needs to continue to shut down opponents and the offense needs to play the aggressive, yet smart style they played this week.

With two games left in the regular season before they head up to Seattle for the Pac-12 Tournament, UCLA is looking dangerous. Now, the biggest question is if they can continue it.


Go Bruins!