The Bruins defeated a top-two team for the first time in 11 years.
UCLA women’s basketball (17-10, 10-5 Pac-12) stunned No. 2 Oregon (24-3, 13-2) with a 74-69 victory on the road after overcoming a 22-point first-half deficit. The last time the Bruins knocked off a No. 2 team was when they beat No. 2 Stanford 69-56 in 2008.
“This win means everything to me,” said senior guard Japreece Dean. “It means everything to me because I know it means everything to my teammates. We’re just happy.”
Senior guard Kennedy Burke carried the Bruins in scoring, posting a career-high 29 points on the night.
“(Burke) stepped up into that role and we fed off of her aggressiveness,” Dean said. “She’s a big-time player and she made some big-time plays.”
Burke went 12-of-17 on the game, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc to go along with the eight rebounds. The guard put up nine of the Bruins’ 21 third-quarter points to propel the comeback and eventually secure the victory.
After the Bruins got outrebounded by 18 in UCLA’s 72-52 loss to Oregon on Jan. 13, Burke said rebounding and boxing out in the second half was the difference Friday night.
“(Coach Cori Close) said if we outrebound them by one or two, we win the game,” Burke said. “And that’s what happened – we outrebounded them by one and it was a game-changer.”
In the first half, Oregon shot 53.1 percent from the field and strung together a 10-0 run in the second quarter to take a 40-18 lead, even without injured forward Ruthy Hebard – who averages 16.4 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Ducks.
“Oregon with (Hebard) or without (Hebard) is probably still the best offensive team in the nation,” said assistant coach Tony Newnan. “They are very difficult to guard. They were in a flow and a rhythm and we weren’t.”
Ducks forwards Erin Boley and Satou Sabally led Oregon in scoring in the first half with 13 and eight points, respectively.
“(Boley) and (Sabally) did a good job using screens and we just didn’t communicate that well,” Burke said. “They were able to do whatever they want because we didn’t compete on the defensive end. But that changed once we hit the second half.”
UCLA limited the two to just seven combined second-half points. A 3-pointer by redshirt freshman guard Lindsey Corsaro midway through the third period cut the Bruins’ deficit to 10 points for the first time since the first quarter.
UCLA outscored Oregon 21-11 in the third period to put the score at 53-48 going into the final quarter of play.
“We found a way just to keep chipping away,” Newnan said. “We found a way to get the ball inside a little bit, and (Burke) was a tough force on the penetrations. Everybody found a way to step up.”
The Bruins continued their surge in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws by sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere with 7:06 left in the game gave the Bruins their first lead since leading 5-4 in the first quarter, and a lead they held for the rest of the contest.
The Bruins handed the Ducks their first home loss of the season after falling 3-0 against them last year. Despite this being the Bruins’ biggest win of the season, Newnan said that the team has to focus on the next game.
“I think come the end of the season, and the end of the Pac-12 tournament we will be able to look back and celebrate this,” Newnan said. “But we told the team in the locker room (that when) we walk off the bus, it’s over with. We are focused on Oregon State and going to get the next one.”
UCLA will have the opportunity to take down another ranked opponent when it faces No.12 Oregon State (22-5, 12-3) on Sunday.