Onyenwere Notches Milestone as Bruins Blow Out UCSB

Postgame Press Conference | Boxscore

LOS ANGELES – No. 11 UCLA (3-1, 1-1) picked up a convincing 102-45 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Michaela Onyenwere made history in the win, becoming the 19th player in program history to reach the 1,500-career-point milestone.
 
UCSB (0-1) was playing its first game of the 2020-21 season.
 
The Bruins opened the game on a 6-0 run, with Onyenwere notching a pair of baskets during that stretch. After Danae Miller got UCSB on the board at the 7:28 mark, Natalie Chou knocked down back-to-back threes to push UCLA's lead to 12-2, forcing a timeout from the Gaucho bench. With the Bruins up 14-7, Lauryn Miller found Emily Bessoir on a strong cut to the rim, with the German freshman converting with the left hand. A triple from Osborne extended the lead to 19-7 with 2:09 to play. Onyenwere followed with her historic bucket, nailing a three-pointer to eclipse the 1,500-point milestone. The Bruins would take a 22-8 lead into the second quarter.
 
UCLA led 24-11 early in the second frame, with Horvat extending the lead with a strong put-back lay-in. Bessoir followed with a triple, forcing a UCSB timeout at the 8:06 mark. After a pair of long-balls cut the Bruin lead to 35-17, Horvat answered with a transition lay-up for her third basket of the game (5:59). The Bruins stayed hot on the offensive end as Chou and Osborne each converted from long range, followed by buckets from Horvat and Miller (51-23). Horvat capped off the half with a three-pointer of her own, putting the Bruins up 56-24 after two quarters.
 
Horvat and Chou led all scorers with 11 points at the break. Miller tied a career-high with five assists in the opening two quarters.
 
After a pair of baskets from the Gauchos, the Bruins answered right back with a quick 7-0 run, highlighted by baskets from Osborne and Chou's fourth triple of the afternoon (67-29). The Bruins led 69-31 out of the third quarter media timeout, but neither team could generate much offense in the subsequent minutes. Late in the frame, Corsaro found Bessoir in transition for an easy two and then Corsaro knocked down a triple to end the quarter, giving the Bruins a 76-34 lead at  the end of the third.
 
UCLA would maintain control for the duration of the fourth quarter. The Gauchos found baskets early in the frame from Miller and Anya Choice, but the Bruins continued their intensity and grew their lead to 84-41 with 6:01 to play in the contest.
 
UP NEXT
The Bruins are back in action on Sunday, Dec. 13 for a crosstown matchup against USC at Galen Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. PT with Pac-12 Network capturing the live broadcast. Dave Marcus' radio broadcast can be accessed at ucla.leanplayer.com. The Bruins took two of three games from the Trojans last season, including a 73-66 victory in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament (Mar. 6). Onyenwere was dominant that night, putting up 26 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to lead UCLA to the win.