The UC Riverside women’s basketball team lost to UCLA 52-90 Thursday night in Westwood. Going into this game, the Highlanders previously lost to Southern Methodist University in Dallas Monday night. After going 6-26 last season, the women’s team looked to get off to a strong start this season. However, they had a tough task in facing a sound UCLA team, who was ranked fourth in the nation.
The Bruins jumped out to an early 11-0 start in the first quarter. The Highlanders couldn’t seem to find a rhythm offensively. Redshirt senior center Matehya Bryant picked up two early fouls that took her out of the game, forcing UC Riverside to tap into the reserves early. UCLA continued to put up points on the board while simultaneously stifling the UCR offense. It wasn’t until the 57-second mark that UC Riverside finally scored their first points of the game as junior guard Jaden Sanderson knocked down a mid-range jumper to bring the score to 20-2. The Bruins scored again twice to close out the first quarter with a 25-2 lead.
The Highlanders started to find their footing in the second quarter as the duo of Sanderson and senior guard Jordan Webster scored the first 15 points for UCR. However, UC Riverside couldn’t find an answer to stopping UCLA’s offense as both teams continued to trade baskets throughout the quarter. Fifth-year guard RyAnne Walters sank a 3-pointer with two minutes left until halftime to put up the first points on the scoreboard outside of Sanderson and Webster. However, the well-rounded UCLA team continued to score with ease as they entered the half with a 49-20 lead.
In the third quarter, the Bruins were able to extend their lead to 31 with a layup from forward Gabriela Jaquez, who is the sister of NBA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. Bryant and Webster led the way offensively for UC Riverside early in the quarter as Webster continued to knock down jump shots and Webster scored from inside the paint. Near the end of the quarter, Walters scored a layup and sank a 3-pointer near the end of the quarter to bring the score to 62-36.
UCLA continued to extend their lead to start the fourth quarter as Jacquez and guard Londynn Jones exchanged buckets to give the Bruins a 67-36 lead. Sophomore guard Makayla Jackson finished back-to-back layups with 5:51 left in the game to score her first points as a Highlander. The UCLA onslaught continued as the game winded down as back-to-back 3-pointers from the Bruins put them up 82-46 with 3:06 left in the game. The 3-pointers continued to fall as UCLA could not seem to miss down the stretch of the game. With time winding down, forward Izzy Anstey put the finishing touches on the game by knocking down a jump shot to give the Bruins a 90-52 win over the Highlanders.
Webster led the way for UC Riverside with 18 points and six assists. Bryant showed her defensive prowess with 11 points, eight rebounds and five steals in the contest.
The Highlanders drop to 0-2 to start the season and will be on the road to take on Boise State next Wednesday, Nov. 15, time to be determined.
