UCLA women top Utah to reach Pac-12 tourney semifinal against USC
By W.G. RAMIREZ The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Angela Dugalic scored 17 points and third-seeded UCLA downed sixth-seeded Utah, 67-57, in a Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday night, setting up a much-anticipated third showdown with rival USC.
Charisma Osborne added 16 points while Kiki Rice had 13 for the Bruins (25-5).
Alissa Pili led the Utes (22-10) with 16 points, while Kennady McQueen added 14. Ines Vieira had 11 and Matyson Wilke contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
UCLA and USC split their two regular-season meetings, each winning on its home court.
UCLA outscored the Utes in each quarter and finished the game shooting 25 for 52 (48.1%) from the field, including 47.1% (8 for 17) from 3-point range.
Utah shot just 35% overall, connecting on 21 of 60 shot attempts.
Osborne paced UCLA in the first half with 12 points, helping the Bruins to 44.8% (13 for 29) shooting.
Leading by two after the first quarter, the Bruins shot 50% in the second frame behind 7-of-14 shooting.
Utah was able to keep within striking distance, despite poor shooting in both quarters, hitting just 38.5% (5 for 13) in the first quarter and 35.3% (6 for 17) in the second. The Utes struggled from distance in the first half, hitting just 4 of 14 (28.6%) from 3-point range.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: The Bruins ranked 22nd in the nation with 78.3 points per game during the regular season, but have averaged 62.7 points over their last four games.
Utah: The Utes came into the game ranked 19th in the country with a plus-18 rebounding margin, in part to 27.2 defensive rebounds per game (60th). But they were outrebounded by the Bruins 42-27.
UP NEXT
UCLA will face second-seeded USC in a semifinal on Friday at 7:30 p.m.