INDIANAPOLIS — They’re starting to get used to this.
Putting on commemorative hats, lifting a championship trophy, cutting down nets — it’s suddenly becoming commonplace for a UCLA women’s basketball team that once watched others do so longingly.
During their 38 years as members of the Pac-12,the Bruinswon one conference tournament title.
In the Big Ten, they are now 2 for 2.
They’re champions once again after dismantling Iowa in the conference title game Sunday,the top-seeded Bruins’ 96-45 victory inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse further validating the program’s rise under coach Cori Close.
Repeating was surprisingly easy.
Blitzing the second-seeded Hawkeyes with energetic defense from the opening tip, the Bruins also got a big early lift off the bench from a certain freshman forward.
After the first quarter, the point tally: Sienna Betts 8, Iowa 5.
UCLA was up 22-5 by then, quieting the heavily pro-Hawkeyes crowd. The rest was just details asthe Bruins(31-1) became the first Big Ten team to win the tournament in back-to-back seasons since Iowa did it three years in a row from 2022-24.
Sharpshooter Gianna Kneepkens led the way for UCLA with 19 points, making 4 of 8 3-pointers for a team that made 13 of 26 shots from long range.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
