LOS ANGELES — UCLA battled through the wringer of tough non-conference foes over the previous two weeks. Oklahoma, Texas, and Tennessee tested the might of the Bruins and provided coach Cori Close some answers on what the fourth-ranked team in the country needed to improve. “We are really poor i n our aggression and inconsistent with our rebounding levels,” Close told the Southern California News Group earlier this week, “and that has got to improve quickly.” UCLA more than responded to its coach’s request. The Bruins played with aggression, pushing pace and defensive intensity against an undefeated Ducks team that prefers to play quickly, holding Oregon to 33% from the field. And they surely dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Ducks by 23 in an 80-59 victory in UCLA’s Big Ten opener on Sunday afternoon. A 19-8 rebound advantage at the end of the first quarter said it all; it wasn’t only the differential between the programs, but also the score at the end of the period. UCLA (9-1, 1-0 Big Ten) pushed forward for an 11-1 lead, using six points from graduate student guard Gianna Kneepkens to set the tone at Pauley Pavilion. The Utah transfer finished with 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. “We had a lot of different schemes that we were attacking, and we were executing that consistently,” Close said postgame. “So we were dictating the shot that was about to happen, therefore we were anticipating instead of reacting to the rebounds, and so that all feeds into it.” Senior center Lauren Betts, who recorded three season-highs with 24 points, 14 rebounds and‌ five blocks, added: “Defensively, did a really good job in the first half, pressuring the ball, following the scout, the things that we kind of talked about leading up to the game.” The improved rebounding effort was on full display, with the Bruins overpowering their 30th-best rebounding rate (43.3 boards per game) for 52 rebounds on Sunday, 16 of them on the offensive glass. Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez tipped the ball over her head into the hands of Betts for a trip to the line for free throws. An offensive rebound from graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker (10 rebounds and eight assists) led to an entry pass to Betts, who was immediately double-teamed, and funneled the ball to a wide-open Amanda Muse under the basket for a 31-12 lead with 4:55 in the second quarter. “She makes other people look good, and she’s very selfless, and that’s really special about her, because she doesn’t really care how much she produces,” Betts said of Leger-Walker. Betts controlled the interior against the undersized Oregon post players, weaving in and out of the paint with nifty footwork, leading to second-chance looks like the tip-in layup on her own miss to place the Bruins ahead 37-16 near the end of the first half. The star senior center, whom Close said earlier this week that UCLA needed to do a better job getting the ball, played up to her billing Sunday, helping keep Oregon at bay with 11 second-half points. Close and Betts met Sunday morning for a film session, breaking down the ins and outs of the 6-foot-7 reigning defensive player of the year’s game. Close said Betts implemented some tips she shared with the at-times dominating center during the early-bird meeting. “I think it helped a lot,” Betts said. “I think sometimes it’s not always easy watching film, especially when you don’t feel like you played your best. … Sometimes when you’re in the moment, everything just feels so far away that you can’t really do it. But I think when you’re watching the film – they really are easy fixes.” Oregon (10-1, 0-1) increased half-court pressure after the break – thanks to Ducks guard Katie Fiso, who heated up for 14 points overall after a 1-for-5 shooting skid in the first half – even forcing Close to call a timeout after a minute into the third quarter. The Bruins’ 15th-year coach said she was disappointed in her team’s second-half play, noting a decrease in intensity that led to being boxed out and playing behind the ball. “Obviously, I failed,” Close said of preparing the Bruins for the second half. “I think that there are times where we should be having blowout games.” But Oregon’s efforts were for naught. By halftime, the Bruins led by 23 points with a 21-plus rebounding advantage. The Ducks only cut the lead to as low as 19 in the second half. UCLA was too big, too strong; a straightforward case of Big Ten – and NCAA tourney – challengers versus conference upstarts. “The superpower of our team is that it can be anyone’s night,” Kneepkens said. And on Sunday, every Bruin on the box score had a hand in a Big Ten play-opening victory. The Bruins return to non-conference action next Tuesday, after the university’s fall quarter finals period, when UCLA hosts Cal Poly on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. Related Articles Alexander: UCLA women boat-race Oregon — and they’ll hear about it Swanson: UCLA’s Mick Cronin isn’t sweating Donovan Dent’s shot California wealth gap to widen, U.S. economy to slow into 2026, UCLA says Bob Chesney set to become UCLA’s 20th head football coach Swanson: Gabriela Jaquez’s ascension raises UCLA’s ceiling ...read more read less