No. 1 UCLA goes on 2nd-half run to beat Richmond, reach Sweet 16

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts had 30 points and 14 rebounds and overall No. 1 seed UCLA defeated Richmond 84-67 on Sunday night to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins (32-2) broke open a close game in the third quarter after the eighth-seeded Spiders (28-7) scored the last seven points before halftime to pull into a 36-36 tie.

The teams traded 3-pointers to open the third. After that, UCLA poured it on, hitting four more 3-pointers and outscoring the Spiders 29-7 to lead 65-43 going into the fourth.

UCLA stepped up its defense, too, forcing the Spiders into missing 12 of 15 shots and going 5 1/2 minutes without scoring. They had no answer for the 6-foot-7 Betts, who scored 10 points and finished 14 of 17 from the floor.

Janiah Barker raised both arms, urging the crowd of 6,119 at Pauley Pavilion to get louder and they did.

The Bruins beat Southern by 38 points — their largest win in postseason history — in the first round.

It wasn't as easy this time.

The Spiders opened the game shooting 73% and led 20-18 after one quarter. Betts had just six points early before UCLA started getting the ball inside to her more in the second.

Richmond didn't quit, either. The Spiders outscored the Bruins 24-19 in the fourth, including two 7-0 runs, but they had too much ground to make up.

Maggie Doogan had 27 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Spiders, appearing in the second round for the first time. Rachel Ullstrom added 18 points and seven rebounds.

Key stat

UCLA controlled the boards 40-28, including a 21-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Up next

The Bruins play fifth-seeded Mississippi (22-10) in a regional semifinal Friday in Spokane.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.