Michaela Onyenwere scored 25 points, Japreece Dean added 24 and No. 10 UCLA stayed unbeaten with a 68-58 win over No. 12 Indiana on Sunday
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. —
Michaela Onyenwere scored 25 points, Japreece Dean added 24 and No. 10 UCLA stayed unbeaten with a 68-58 win over No. 12 Indiana on Sunday.
The Bruins (11-0) had a big early lead, but the Hoosiers (10-2) rallied to a one-possession deficit in the latter half of the final quarter. But Onyenwere and Dean were too much as UCLA answered each Indiana surge.
Onyenwere, a junior forward, scored 19 second-half points. Dean, a senior guard, made three 3-pointers in reaching a season high.
It’s the first time in Indiana women’s basketball history that two top-12 teams have met on the Hoosiers’ home floor. UCLA got even for a 67-65 home loss to Indiana last year, when Jaelynn Penn hit a deciding 3-pointer.
The Bruins return three seniors from a team that reached the Elite Eight last year.
The Hoosiers, who advanced to the NCAA tournament’s second round, have only one senior regular but all five starters average in double digits. But on Sunday, the only double-digit scorer was freshman Mackenzie Holmes with 13 points.
In one first-half stretch, the Hoosiers missed 14 consecutive shots.
Indiana made just 20 of 58 shots (34.5 percent), and also missed 10 foul shots in 24 attempts. UCLA shot just 24 of 72 (33.3 percent) from the floor.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: A final win before beginning Pac-12 play was the first against a ranked opponent this season. That’s important when considering the Bruins are one of four Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 10, so league play looks to be more challenging.
Indiana: Despite dropping to 2-2 against Top-25 teams, the Hoosiers expect to benefit come tourney time from playing a tougher schedule. The Hoosiers knocked off No. 5 South Carolina 71-57, lost to No. 2 Baylor 77-62 and won 58-45 at No. 21 Miami.
UP NEXT
UCLA: Hosts USC on Sunday.
Indiana: Hosts Michigan State on Saturday.
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More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25