No. 8 UCLA women rout Utah 84-54 to improve to 15-0
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Michaela Onyenwere scored 18 points, Charisma Osborne had 17 and No. 8 UCLA routed Utah 84-54 on Friday night to improve to 15-0, extending the best start in school history.
Charisma Osborne added 17 points to help the Bruins go to 4-0 in the Pac-12.
Julie Brosseau had 10 points for the Utes (7-8 , 0-4). They have lost four in a row.
The Bruins struggled to find openings in the Utah defense until they began extending their own defense, disrupting dribble handoffs and forcing turnovers. UCLA then got transition opportunities and found open shots by moving the ball.
UCLA shot 81% in the fourth quarter to turn it into a blowout.
Trailing in the second half, UCLA had a 23-3 run bridging the third and fourth quarters that made it 61-44 with 6:37.
Down nine at the half, the Utes started the second half with a stunning 15-2 run that was capped by Brynna Maxwell's pull-up 3-pointer.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: The Bruins have won 13 straight against Utah. They needed some timely defense to jump-start their offense and get rolling. The Bruins looked like a smooth-running machine as the began moving the ball and getting out on the run.
Utah: After losing by a combined 66 points to No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Oregon State, the Utes lost big to their third straight Top 10 opponent but gave the Bruins a much tougher test for nearly three quarters. Utah's match-up zone forced the Bruins outside, the Utes' 19 turnovers were too much to overcome.
UP NEXT:
UCLA: At Colorado on Sunday.
Utah: Hosts Southern California on Sunday.