Bruins stay hot and roll into the round of 16 where UConn awaits
They’ve been allowed only to talk about what’s guaranteed.
Now it’s a sure thing: UCLA will get its shot at the matchup it’s had its eyes on all along against top-ranked and undefeated Connecticut.
The Bruins earned it by routing Texas A&M on Monday, 75-43, in a second-round NCAA tournament game before a crowd of 2,077 at Pauley Pavilion.
Kari Korver hit seven three-point baskets as the Bruins (25-8), the No. 4 seed in the Bridgeport Regional, routed the No. 5 Aggies (22-12) in a game that they led for all 40 minutes.
Afterward the Bruins were finally allowed to talk about the 109-consecutive-win giant they’ll face next.
“Super excited, obviously we really respect them,” Korver said about Connecticut after the game. “They’re a great team, they’ve been through multiple years — but any given night, someone can win. ... We’re going to give it all we have.”
Said Jordin Canada: “There’s a reason why they are the No. 1 team in the country. They execute pretty well, they’re a really good basketball team. But at the moment we’re focused on what we can do better.”
Against Texas A&M, UCLA did almost everything right.
The Bruins set a fast pace, played defense, and continued a hot shooting streak — 56.6% from the field — that started in a first-round rout over Boise State. But their rebounding, for a second consecutive game, left room for improvement.
They’ll have to match that level of play, and then some, if they want to take down the Huskies.
“We’re playing in the Sweet 16,” Coach Cori Close said. “I think that has to be really delineated.
“So many people go, ‘Oh my gosh we are playing UConn,’ — well, we are playing in a Sweet 16 game. ... It’s really important that we keep that focus: ‘What do we do well? How do we play to our strengths? What did we learn from this weekend? What are the couple of tweaks that we can make so that we can play closest to our potential?’ I think our mental framework is the most important thing going into this next game. Obviously UConn has our respect.”
UCLA jumped to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter against the Aggies behind the red-hot Korver, who quickly made two threes, scoring 18 of her 21 points in the first half.
“That was probably my hottest college game,” Korver said. “I usually try not to show that much excitement, but I was pretty pumped up.”
In the second quarter the Aggies appeared gassed and Close motioned for her team to keep running. Korver knocked down four three-point shots and Monique Billings, who finished with 12 points, became a force in the post.
The Bruins led, 42-21, by halftime.
A slow start in the second half quickly turned around when Canada made a couple of layups, Billings made three consecutive shots and Korver hit another three. UCLA led, 57-31, with 3:24 to play in the third quarter and the celebration inside Pauley Pavilion was on.
Canada notched her second double-double of the tournament and finished with 21 points and 11 assists.
UCLA won its first- and second-round games by 27 and 32 points, respectively.
The next game won’t come so easy.
“My goal is to try to lead our players when their best is needed,” Close said. “Whether the score reflects that or not, I’ll live with that.”
For the Bruins, they’ll hope the score reflects a history-making win next Saturday.
Follow Lindsey Thiry on Facebook and Twitter @LindseyThiry
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