UCLA guard Kiki Rice drives past Hawaii’s MeiLani McBee (23) and Brooklyn Rewers for a basket during the first half of the Bruins’ 85-46 victory over the Rainbow Wahine on Thursday. AP photo
LOS ANGELES — No. 2 UCLA cruised undefeated through its nonconference schedule, beating ranked UConn, Florida State and Ohio State on the road.
Now, the Bruins are about to face their biggest test yet.
They’ll take on No. 6 Southern California after Christmas in the teams’ Pac-12 opener in a game expected to be a sellout at Pauley Pavilion.
“It’s going to be a blast,” coach Cori Close said Thursday after the Bruins routed the University of Hawaii 85-46 to finish 11-0 in nonleague play. “We’re not even close to playing our best basketball.”
Charisma Osborne scored 17 points and UCLA had over half its points in the paint in the first half.
The Rainbow Wahine had no answer inside for 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts, who towered 3 inches over their tallest player. Even when double-teamed, Betts fought through to draw a foul. She finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Hawaii’s starting center, Brooklyn Rewers, picked up three fouls in the first half.
The Bruins led 45-16 at halftime, outscoring the ‘Bows 30-4 in the paint. For the game, the Bruins outscored UH 44-8 inside.
“We’ve grown a lot as a team,” Osborne said. “We’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with each other and finding each others good shots.”
Olivia Davies led the Rainbow Wahine (3-6) with 11 points. MeiLani McBee added nine points, but she was one of five Hawaii players in foul trouble. UH had a season-high 26 turnovers.
Kiki Rice added 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals for UCLA.
The Bruins didn’t waste any time in dominating the ‘Bows, who were coming off a 17-day break.
The Rainbow Wahine’s only points in the first quarter came on two 3-pointers by McBee. They committed 12 turnovers and were outscored 20-0 in the paint.
The Bruins’ lone weak spot was free throws. They made just 8 of 19.
“It was definitely one of those days,” said Betts, who missed all three of her free throws.
Hawaii’s Daejah Phillips went down with 1:42 remaining in the game. She eventually got up and walked off, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Rainbow Wahine next head into Big West play, opening at Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 30.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice drives past Hawaii’s MeiLani McBee (23) and Brooklyn Rewers for a basket during the first half of the Bruins’ 85-46 victory over the Rainbow Wahine on Thursday. AP photoToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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