The Sports Report: UCLA has the best team in women’s basketball

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Ben Bolch: Celebrating among themselves was not going to be sufficient on a day like this.

Moments after the UCLA women’s basketball team made history, players sprinted to celebrate with students who surged onto the court from the sellout crowd.

Center Lauren Betts hugged former teammates Charisma Osborne and Camryn Brown. Gabriela Jaquez and others high-fived courtside fans, recognizing the meaning of it all.

There’s going to be a new No. 1 team.

It might just be the Bruins.

They made their case in compelling fashion Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, fifth-ranked UCLA dominating top-ranked South Carolina with smothering defense on the way to a 77-62 victory that ended the defending national champions’ 43-game winning streak.

Just as striking as the ease with which the Bruins won the game was their nonchalance afterward.

“We expected to win,” UCLA coach Cori Close said, eliciting a nod from Betts as they sat next to each other to meet with reporters. “We have a phrase in our program that it begins before it begins, that you’ve got to do the work to prepare and it starts way before the tip. There just was never a doubt and prepared like we expected to win.”

Calling it a historic victory is no overstatement. The Bruins had never previously beaten a top-ranked team, having gone 0 for 20.

Close hailed it not as an arrival for her program but another step toward where it wants to go: a first NCAA championship.

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Hernández: UCLA women prove beyond a doubt they are No. 1 in basketball

UCLA box score

AP top 25 rankings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: The Dodgers’ World Series trophy was in the house. So was Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles.

Also on hand Sunday night at SoFi Stadium were members of the St. Louis Rams’ 1999 Super Bowl championship team, including four Hall of Fame players from an offense known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.”

Despite their presence, the Rams demonstrated once again that they cannot yet be considered championship material — not at least with what consistently has been a less-than-great offense and a defense that got steamrolled by Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley.

Barkley amassed 302 total yards as the Eagles rolled past the Rams 37-20 in front of a crowd of 74,400 — about half of them Eagles fans.

The defeat dropped the Rams’ record to 5-6. Though unimpressive, it is not a death knell for the Rams’ playoff hopes, especially with the Arizona Cardinals (6-5) and San Francisco 49ers (5-6) both losing Sunday.

The Rams have six games left, starting next Sunday at New Orleans.

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Rams box score

NFL scores

NFL standings

CLIPPERS

James Harden had 23 points and eight assists, Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Clippers coasted to a 125-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.

The 76ers fell to 3-13, an improbable record for a team that opened the season as a strong betting favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The 76ers played again without All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, both out because of knee injuries.

Harden was booed every time he touched the ball by 76ers fans who have not forgotten how he left the team in a lurch when he demanded a trade ahead of the 2023-24 season.

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Clippers box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

USC FOOTBALL

From Bill Plaschke: As the clock ticked down on a long cold Pasadena night, a small but sturdy cheer rose from the shivering Rose Bowl masses.

“We Are … SC!”

For the longest time in this 92nd meeting with UCLA, they weren’t.

The Trojans stumbled. They botched. They stunk.

But then, in this street fight’s final breaths, they found themselves.

Lincoln Riley became an SC coach. Jayden Maiava became an SC quarterback. Ja’Kobi Lane became an SC receiver.

And when it was finished, a group of hugging young men in cardinal and gold bounced out of the blue-dyed Rose Bowl with a 19-13 victory and a renewed definition of self.

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UCLA vs. USC takeaways: Bruins aim for resilience after fumbling away a signature win

Opinion: College football is now just a business, each player a free agent — and the fans lose

USC BASKETBALL

Boise State transfer Chibuzo Agbo scored 16 of his season-high 21 points in the second half, Josh Cohen added 18 points on seven-of-eight shooting and USC beat Grambling 80-69 on Sunday.

Desmond Claude scored all his 14 points in the second half for USC (5-1) and finished with five rebounds and five assists. Agbo made four of nine from three-point range — his second consecutive game with four threes and at least 20 points.

Reserves Wesley Yates III, Claude and Agbo started the second half for the Trojans after Grambling shot 54% from the field in the first to take a 38-37 lead into the break.

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USC box score

AP top 25 rankings

GALAXY

From Kevin Baxter: The last time the Galaxy played in the MLS Western Conference final, Gabriel Pec was in elementary school, Joseph Paintsil was in junior high and Riqui Puig had just entered Barcelona’s academy system.

It’s been a while.

But with all three players contributing to the scoring Sunday, the Galaxy found their way back to the conference championship game for the first time in a decade with a 6-2 win over Minnesota United before a sellout crowd of 26,192 at Dignity Health Sports Park. They will meet the Seattle Sounders on Saturday in Carson, where the Galaxy is unbeaten in 18 MLS games. The winner of that game will host the MLS Cup final Dec. 7.

The Galaxy haven’t just returned to the playoff final four, though; they’ve pillaged and rampaged their way there, destroying everyone in their path while scoring 15 times in three playoff wins in which they’ve never trailed. On Sunday they were even more dominant, keeping the ball for more than 60 of the 90 minutes, making nearly three times as many passes as Minnesota and completing more than 93% of them.

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Galaxy summary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1925 — Red Grange, playing his first game as a pro with the Chicago Bears, is held to 36 yards in a 0-0 tie with the Chicago Cardinals.

1934 — The Detroit Lions suffer the first defeat in franchise history, 3-0 to the Green Bay Packers. The Lions had won the first 10 games of the season.

1948 — Howie Dallmar of the Philadelphia Warriors matches his NBA record for futility by missing all 15 shots against the Washington Capitols.

1979 — Pat Summerall and John Madden broadcast a game together for the first time, a pairing that lasts 22 years and becomes one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history.

1980 — “No Mas, No Mas.” Roberto Duran quits with 16 seconds to go in the eighth round at New Orleans, allowing Sugar Ray Leonard to regain the WBC welterweight title.

1983 — Larry Holmes knocks out Marvis Frazier at 2:57 of the first round to retain the world heavyweight title in Las Vegas.

1985 — Clemson’s Grayson Marshall sets an NCAA record with 20 assists in an 83-57 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore.

1995 — Tim Biakabutuka rushes for a career-high 313 yards as Michigan upsets Ohio State 31-23.

2002 — Ozzie Newsome becomes the first Black general manager in NFL history, signing a new five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens that includes an upgrade in his title.

2007 — San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson becomes the 23rd player in NFL history rush for 10,000 yards, reaching the milestone on a 36-yard run in the Chargers’ 32-14 win over Baltimore.

2012 — The Toronto Argonauts beats the Calgary Stampeders 35-22 in the 100th Grey Cup. Toronto earns its 16th Grey Cup title and first since 2004.

2014 — Lionel Messi becomes the UEFA Champions League all-time scorer.

2018 — Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers sets an NFL single-game record completing 25-straight passes in a 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Compiled by the Associated Press