LOS ANGELES—Kiki Rice scored 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting and second-seeded UCLA rallied for a 67–63 win over No. 7 seed Creighton in the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Monday, March 25, at Pauley Pavilion.
Center Lauren Betts, who had missed Saturday’s 84–55 victory over California Baptist because of an unspecified injury, added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bruins (27–6), who advanced to the Sweet 16 in the Albany, N.Y., 2 Regional.
UCLA will face defending national champion Louisiana State on Saturday. The Tigers moved on by beating Middle Tennessee State 83–56 on Sunday.
Lauren Jensen scored 20 points to lead Creighton (26–6). Morgan Maly finished with 18 points, and Emma Ronsiek chipped in 14.
UCLA trailed by 10 points with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter when Mallory Brake made a layup to put Creighton on top 44–34.
The Bruins outscored Creighton 33–19 the rest of the way. UCLA finished the third quarter with a 22–14 advantage, and it outmuscled Creighton for an 11–7 advantage during a hard-fought fourth quarter.
The Bruins finished with a 40–22 edge in rebounds, including a 12–4 margin in offensive rebounds. UCLA had a 14–5 advantage in second-chance points.
Creighton managed only four points from its bench. UCLA tallied 12 bench points, including eight from Gabriela Jaquez.
