Betts and Jaquez help No. 1 UCLA rout UT Martin 97-37 as Bruins play first game as top team

HONOLULU (AP) — Lauren Betts scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Gabriela Jaquez added 17 points to help No. 1 UCLA rout Tennessee-Martin 97-37 on the opening day of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown Friday.

The Bruins (6-0) never trailed and shot 53% from the field to rout the Skyhawks (1-5), who were limited to 24% shooting.

Betts, a 6-foot-7 junior center, recorded her fourth double-double in as many games and her fifth of the season. Londynn Jones and Timea Gardiner scored 11 points apiece and Janiah Barker added 10 for UCLA. Barker also tallied seven rebounds and five assists.

Jaquez made all eight of her shot attempts.

Anaya Brown scored seven points for UT Martin.

UCLA, which moved up to No. 1 in the poll for the first time on Monday, outrebounded UT Martin 47-29. The Bruins also dominated points in the paint (48-10); bench points (54-16 and fastbreak points (23-2).

UCLA led at halftime 44-20.

It was the first meeting the schools.

Takeaways

UCLA: Five days after its first win over a No. 1-ranked team in program history, the Bruins plays their first game as the nation’s top-ranked team and saw five players score in double figures.

UT Martin: The Skyhawks played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago and were picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference this season. They dropped to 0-46 all-time against ranked opponents.

Key moment

UT Martin used a 7-0 run early in the contest to pull within 10-9 on Kenley McCain’s 15-foot jumper with 5:50 left in the first quarter. However, UCLA went on an 11-0 run that was sparked by a Barker 3-pointer.

Key stat

UCLA scored 40 points off of 28 UT Martin turnovers, while the Skyhawks managed only four points off 14 turnovers by the Bruins.

Up next

UCLA will play Fresno State on Saturday and UT Martin will face tournament-host Hawaii.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

By KALANI TAKASE
Associated Press