Bruins Dominate USC to Cap Regular Season
Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Press Conference | Boxscore
LOS ANGELES – No. 10 UCLA Women's Basketball (14-4, 12-4) put together a dominant effort against USC (10-11, 8-10), winning by a final score of 93-51 on Senior Day.
Charisma Osborne recorded the ninth triple-double in team history with 18 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds. Michaela Onyenwere continued her climb up the program's scoring charts, recording 30 points to move into ninth place all-time. She converted a career-high six 3-pointers without a miss and the Bruins knocked down a school record 16, on 23 attempts, from distance.
Onyenwere opened the scoring with a jumper in the lane to put the Bruins ahead, but Jordyn Jenkins responded with a three-point play (7:56). UCLA then jumped out to an 8-3 lead after buckets from Emily Bessoir and Lindsey Corsaro (4:35). The Bruins led 9-6 before Alissa Pili drained a triple from the right elbow extended, evening the score at 9 (2:49). After free throws from Lauryn Miller and Charisma Osborne, Corsaro finished a tough layup to put the Bruins up, 14-9. Jenkins would add a layup at the other end, making it 14-11 after one.
UCLA started out hot from beyond the arc, as Corsaro and Onyenwere connected on triples to put the Bruins ahead, 20-13 (7:22). Osborne drilled a pair of triples out of a USC timeout, pushing UCLA's advantage to 26-13 (6:37). UCLA led, 34-19 after three-pointers from Corsaro and Osborne, with Onyenwere adding to the lead with a jumper from the left corner (3:27). The teams would exchange baskets before Onyenwere canned her third triple of the night to put UCLA up, 41-23 with 1:17 to play in the quarter. Onyenwere capped the half with a turnaround jumper with three seconds to play, giving UCLA a 43-23 advantage at the break. In all, the Bruins connected on 7-of-9 triples in the second quarter and outscored the Trojans, 29-12.
Onyenwere (14 points), Osborne (12), and Corsaro (11) all notched double-digit scoring totals in the first half. Jenkins was USC's leading scorer with nine points at the break.
Osborne opened the third quarter with a three-pointer and Onyenwere followed with her career-high fourth triple to extend UCLA's lead to 51-23 (7:42). Corsaro and Onyenwere stayed hot, each adding triples to swell the advantage to 62-32 at the third quarter media stoppage. A pair of baskets from Dominique Darius and free throws from Osborne made it 69-35 at the 1:16 mark. Pili finished the quarter with a short jumper from the left side, giving the Bruins a 69-39 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Bruins would finish strong in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Trojans 24-12, to cap the final margin at 93-51. Chou's triple at the 4:27 mark in the frame was the Bruins' 14th of the night, which tied a school record set on Nov. 18, 2016 against Southern University. The basket also earned Osborne her career-high ninth assist of the night.
Fittingly, it was Onyenwere who broke the long-range record (2:26). The conversion brought her point total to 30. The 3-pointer set off a 9-0 scoring spree by UCLA to close the game. During the run, Osborne found Darius for a layup in transition (1:34) to take her spot in Bruin history.
UP NEXT
UCLA is set to head to Las Vegas for the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament. The Bruins have earned a first-round bye and will play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 4.