Bruins Dominate Trojans at Galen Center

Postgame Press Conference | Highlights | Boxscore

LOS ANGELES -- The No. 11 UCLA women's basketball team never trailed en route to a 73-52 victory over crosstown rival USC Sunday at the Galen Center.

Senior forward Michaela Onyenwere (19) and sophomore guard Charisma Osborne (18) combined for 37 points and redshirt-senior guard Natalie Chou rounded out a trio of double-digit scorers with 10. The Bruins (4-1, 2-1) outscored the Trojans (1-3, 0-3) by a 20-5 margin in the third quarter, holding their hosts without a field goal while increasing their lead to as many as 27 points. Onyenwere moved into 18th place on UCLA's all-time scoring list, passing 2019 alumna Kennedy Burke (1,513 points) on the program ranks.

Osborne started the game hot, draining a pair of three-pointers to put UCLA ahead 6-2 (9:09). A bucket from redshirt-junior guard Lindsey Corsaro and free throws from Osborne and freshman forward Emily Bessoir ballooned the early lead to nine before Osborne dished off to redshirt-junior guard Chantel Horvat for the easy two, forcing a Trojan timeout at the 5:35 mark (15-4). Triples from Bessoir and Chou made it 21-7 before USC guard Jordan Sanders scored in transition, cutting the lead to 12 with 3:02 left in the frame. Two more buckets from Osborne extended UCLA's lead to 27-14 before Angel Jackson converted in the paint for USC (1:31). UCLA would take a 27-18 lead into the second quarter behind 13 points from Osborne.

Osborne knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the game to open the second quarter, giving the Bruins a 12-point lead (9:20). Later in the frame, UCLA was up 13 before Endyia Rogers hit a jumper in the lane to cut the Bruins' lead to 11 (6:38). With the Bruins up 35-23, Michaela Onyenwere knocked down a short jumper and Sanders quickly answered with a bucket from the corner (2:55). On the next possession, Chou knocked down a triple and extended the Bruins' lead to 15 (2:45). Five-straight points from the Trojans cut the lead to 10 before sophomore guard Camryn Brown knocked down a free throw line jumper to make it 42-30 (1:18). The score would hold until halftime.

Osborne scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half.

Onyenwere and senior forward Miller opened the second half with back-to-back buckets in the paint, putting the Bruins ahead 46-30 (8:53). Onyenwere then drained a triple from the elbow extended, giving the Bruins a 19-point lead (8:13). Later, the Bruins were up 51-32 before Onyenwere knocked down her second long ball of the quarter to extend the advantage to 22 (5:09). Six-straight points from Onyenwere put the Bruins ahead 60-33 at the 2:06 mark. UCLA would add on and take a 62-35 lead into the final frame. Onyenwere scored 14 of her 19 points in the third quarter.

Both teams struggled from the field early in the fourth quarter. The Bruins led 62-39 before Corsaro drove strong to the rim for the left-handed lay-in, UCLA's first field goal of the final frame (5:21). Bessoir and Horvat followed with baskets in the paint, pushing it back to a 68-44 advantage (4:10). The Bruins have now taken three of the last four decisions in the series.

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UCLA returns home to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom for the team's first Pac-12 home contest, taking on Cal on Saturday, Dec. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. PT with Pac-12 Networks broadcasting the live action. Dave Marcus' radio call can be heard at ucla.leanplayer.com. The Bruins won their lone matchup with the Golden Bears last season, securing a 74-70 overtime victory in Berkeley.