Women UCLA will last LSU to create the first final four program

Spokane, Wash. – as Lauren Betts found herself imprisoned in a post with about 90 seconds remaining in the game Sunday, she saw Gabriela Jaquez Waiting wide open in the corner.

Betts had full confidence, Jaquez would be there – Teased The teammates are strengthened by a strong two -man game and found themselves in this situation before. This time, however, the moment was greater than ever.

Jaquez released a high -boric shot as Lsu Defender closed at her, and when he walked through the net, the first trip was clicked to the NCAA Final Four was all sealed. UCLA previously won the title AIAW and appeared in two AIAW semifinals, but never got around the Eight Eight in the NCAA era, which began in 1982.

“To do something we haven’t done for a long time or in the ncaa era, and so just proud, proud of their teammates, staff, coaches who are constantly improving every day and grow from every season and,” Jaquez said after UCLA after UCLA 72-65 win. “I just don’t even have words, just so proud.”

Since the last season was expelled in Sweet 16 with the same LSU team, Bruins spent a better part of last year to work on their toughness and ability to play through chaos. They said their victory on Sunday was the result of this work.

“The game was won in Poise and the choice to return to the neutral, get focused and take another right step,” said UCLA Cori Close coach. “This is where I think the game has been won.”

In the game where the first three quarters were defined runs, Bruins built a 14-point lead in the middle of the third. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, however, they saw that the lead had shrunk to six. With less than four minutes in the game, LSU withdrew to three.

“There were a lot of things we could get down about this game,” Betts said. “I think we were just mentally prepared and we have stiffened since the middle of the period … as a teammate.”

Junior guard added Kiki rice“I think it’s character. We talked about how our talent is our floor and our character is our ceiling. And for us to go and connect to this toughness and were just a harder team every day on the pitch, there is really a difference for us.”

After the Tigers made a playing game, she clicked closed to defense-Betts LSU on 0-Z-4 shooting on shots he attacked in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research-A stretched two fouls and Jaquez knocked her dagger.

This bucket perfectly encapsulated the kind of offense that Bruins relied on the whole game. UCLA hit 10 3-clerks against LSU and Jaquez’s career high four 3s and Time curtainsFive of them make the first set of Bruins teammates for everyone to create at least four trio in the last 25 years in the NCAA tournament game. Twenty out of 24 3-point UCLA attempts were undisputed, ESPN research.

“If you said:

UCLA entered Sunday and shot almost 53% from the inside. But against LSU Bruins scored only 16 points at 32% shooting in this area. They fired 65% from anywhere else.

A big part of it was that the pressure of LSU was deployed by Betts, which ended with 17 points on shooting 7 out of 14, 7 rebounds and 5 turns.

Betts raised its second foul in the middle of the first quarter, for the first time in her career she raised several fouls in the opening period. She was forced to sit the rest of half.

Without Betts in the first quarter, UCLA 0-Z-6 from the floor went. But then something changed in the second quarter. Instead of falling into the hole, Bruins went to run and opened a quarter of Outcoring LSU 14-4, strengthened three Gardiner’s 3-reporters. UCLA held a six -point lead entering the half -life.

“The game was lost in the second quarter,” said LSU coach Kim Mulkey. “This is where the game was lost. We haven’t used that Betts is off the floor.”

“We’re talking about that when we have a deep team,” Betts said. “I don’t always have to be in the game. I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented alone, and they put them in work. So I knew it when I was sitting there. … have my back.”

Jaquez led Bruins in scoring with 18 points in shooting 5 out of 7, while Gardiner ended with 15 points. Rice had a slow scoring night, but released eight assists.

The way Betts managed its unpleasant problems, and what he called the below-average second half from the 6-Naha-8 center, also showed how the UCLA had grown.

“A year ago, as if she was sending her over her edge if she was so angry and beaten,” Close said. “I think every game creates a kind of chaos, will create adversity, and which team can react and be aware of what it is like, and find other ways to do, influence victory, that’s really great to see how Lauren is doing.”