No. 10 UCLA women stay unbeaten with 59-50 win over Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Michaela Onyenwere scored 19 points and had nine rebounds to lead No. 10 UCLA to a 59-50 victory over Georgia on Thursday to remain undefeated.

Lauryn Miller had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Bruins (10-0), who led by 14 points at halftime of the game that started at 11 a.m.

Gabby Connally led Georgia (7-4) with 16 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the first quarter to make it 17-15.

But UCLA’s defense locked down the Lady Bulldogs in the second quarter. Georgia scored on only two possessions. Reserve center Malury Bates made a backdoor layup with 3:11 remaining in the half and then hit a pair of free throws a minute later. UCLA, meanwhile, scored 16 points in the quarter to build a 33-19 halftime lead.

Onyenwere scored 15 of her points in the first half, when Miller pulled down 10 rebounds. The Bruins dominated the boards in the first half, 31-17. UCLA had 11 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds while Georgia managed just three offensive rebounds and failed to capitalize on any of them.

Midway in the third quarter, freshman Jordan Isaacs entered the game and sparked a brief run by Georgia. Her layup in traffic punctuated by Connally’s 3-pointer and layup cut into UCLA’s lead, making it 41-32 with 4:29 to go in the quarter. But that was as close as Georgia got until the waning minutes.

UCLA won the rebounding edge 50-37 and turned the ball over less, too, 11-17. Neither team shot well. UCLA hit 34% of its shots and Georgia 35%.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: The Bruins have positioned themselves as contenders, thanks to their prowess as rebounders and defenders. Onyenwere remains the key cog in their offense.

Georgia: The Lady Bulldogs remain a team in search of an identity, unable to score from the outside or match UCLA’s physicality on the boards. They have a bad habit of playing one terrible quarter per game.

UP NEXT

UCLA: The Bruins play at Indiana on Sunday, a noon local tipoff, but another breakfast start on California time.

Georgia: The Lady Bulldogs will host Gardner-Webb on Sunday before a brief Christmas break.