Fast start allows UCLA women to rout Pepperdine

Janiah Barker had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Lauren Betts had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the No. 5 UCLA women rolled past Pepperdine 91-54 on Tuesday.

The Bruins (3-0) started the game with an 18-0 run. Ornela Muca, who led Pepperdine (1-2) with 20 points, made a three-pointer to stop the run.

Betts made all six of her shots in the first half and didn’t miss until the third quarter.

UCLA outrebounded Pepperdine 56-22.

This was no trap game for the Bruins. UCLA easily won and was in control of all phases of the game to remain undefeated.

The Waves have much to learn under new coach Katie Faulkner. They often couldn’t run their offense against such a stifling defense. That level of competition could pay dividends during West Coast Conference play.

UCLA came out of the gate on fire even though it was an unusually early game that started before noon. Betts was dominant in the paint and scored on a put-back and was fouled for a three-point play for the early 18-0 lead.

Pepperdine missed 12 of its first 16 shots and shot 30.5% from the field.

Up next

UCLA hosts Arkansas on Sunday night. Pepperdine visits California Baptist on Saturday afternoon.