Osborne scores 32, No. 8 UCLA beats Washington State 70-62

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Charisma Osborne had a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds and No. 8 UCLA rallied in the fourth quarter and beat Washington State 70-62 on Friday night.

Trailing 61-57 with 3:30 remaining, Osborne was fouled on a 3-point attempt. She made all three free throws, pulling the Bruins within a point.

Kiana Jefferson made two baskets and Osborne hit a jumper with 1:14 left to close out the Cougars.

The Bruins (23-3, 12-3 Pac-12) won despite shooting just 34% from the field and committing 17 turnovers. UCLA improved to 23-8 all-time in Pullman and has won consecutive games following an 80-66 home loss to No. 3 Oregon on Feb. 14.

Osborne, who averages 14 points, posted a career high in scoring for the second straight game. She put up 22 points in the Bruins’ 83-74 overtime win over No. 15 Oregon State on Monday.

Borislava Hristova scored 29 points for Washington State (11-16, 4-11 Pac-12), which lost its fourth straight. Hristova went down with what appeared to be a leg injury with a little over a minute to play. She returned after being checked out in the locker room.

UCLA shot 25% in the first quarter as Washington State jumped out to a 19-11 lead behind Hristova’s 11 points. Washington State center Bella Murekatete had four steals and the Cougars forced nine turnovers on a UCLA team that averages 11.4 per game.

UCLA cut the Washington State lead to 34-31 in the second quarter as Osborne took control, scoring 12 of her team’s 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

UCLA took its first lead when Michaela Onyenwere scored a layup off a fast break, making the score 39-38 with 6:49 left in the third.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: With South Carolina, Baylor and Oregon having established themselves as the three best teams in the country, UCLA is in a crowded field competing for the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have only one marquee non-conference win (at Indiana) and their three remaining games are against teams in the bottom half of the Pac-12 standings. They will need a convincing finish to the regular season to make their case for the final top seed in March.

Washington State: The Cougars have lost 34 straight games against Top-25 ranked teams. They are currently 7-7 when playing in Pullman and will have one more opportunity, on Sunday against USC, to secure their first winning season at home since 2016-2017.

UP NEXT

UCLA: At Washington on Sunday.

Washington State: Host USC on Sunday.