Barker, Betts lead No. 5 UCLA over Pepperdine

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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 3-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.

Takeaways

Pepperdine: The Waves have much to learn under new coach Katie Faulkner, and a game against UCLA will help. 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: This was no trap game for the Bruins. UCLA easily won and was in control of all phases of the game to remain undefeated.

Key moment

UCLA came out of the gate on fire even though it was an unusually early weekday game. Betts was dominant in the paint and scored on a putback and was fouled for a three-point play for the big lead at 18-0.

Key stat

Pepperdine missed 12 of its first 16 shots. With Betts scoring at-will inside, the Waves could ill afford to start the game cold but that’s what happened. The Waves shot 30.5% from the field.

Up next

UCLA: Hosts Arkansas on Sunday night.

Pepperdine: Visits California Baptist on Saturday afternoon.

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