Depth powers UCLA Final Four run

With UCLA’s top offensive option out of the game, their depth shined as others took control of the game. It was Timea Gardiner hitting timely three-point shots. It was Janiah Barker putting pressure on the defense by drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. It was Gabriela Jaquez flying all over the court getting her hands on loose balls and rebounds, infusing the team with energy.

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During her media availability the day before the game, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey cautioned about thinking the Bruins were just Betts. Mulkey acknowledged that UCLA was “talented at a lot of positions.”

When the game was over, and Mulkey sat at the podium for her postgame press conference, she reiterated that sentiment.

“We did not take advantage of Betts being off the floor in the second quarter, and we allowed perimeter threes and other people to step up,” Mulkey explained. “But I will say, as I said before, they’re not all about Betts. Betts is just a safety valve down there. When they get in trouble, she can score at will.”

While UCLA had a talented team last season when they lost to LSU in the Sweet 16, they lacked the consistent depth that has been a staple this season. The Bruins went and got Barker and Gardner out of the transfer portal, two players who could have been starters on other programs.

Both have bought into the second unit role UCLA has them playing, and Close admitted that it was not always easy at first.

“It’s a challenge every year, but specifically this year, we had seven new players and six returners. And so how do we become a group that’s better together than the sum total of our parts and our talent pieces,” Close said during her postgame press conference. “From the very beginning, it was obvious that we had enough talent, but we said talent was going to be our floor.”

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Close also mentioned how last season, Betts might have been frustrated with herself for getting into early foul trouble, affecting her mindset for the rest of the game.

Instead, Betts was up off the bench cheering her teammates on and watching proudly as they overcame a nine-point first quarter to surge past LSU and seize control of the game. To her, it wasn’t surprising; it’s what she’s come to expect from them.

“This is what we’re talking about when we say we have a deep team,” Betts said during her postgame press conference. “I don’t have to be in the game at all times. I have a team full of players who just as amazing and talented in their own right, and they put in the work.”

Gardiner was the key offensive weapon for UCLA in the second quarter. She hit two threes in the period, the first coming early as UCLA re-took the lead. The second came later in the quarter to continue the Bruins’ momentum and increase their lead.

She finished with 15 points in 22 minutes while shooting 5-of-8 from three-point range. Following the game, Gardiner echoed Betts’ sentiment in that UCLA has many different weapons that can hurt opposing teams in different ways.

“I think that we just did what we usually do. One person goes down, another person steps up,” Gardiner said. “And as Lauren said, we have a deep team and everyone’s ready when their number is called. So we truly did that, and we found each other too. We just played off each other and we had fun.”

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Jaquez finished with a team-high 18 points, with a few of her baskets coming during UCLA’s second quarter run. She also added a team-high eight rebounds, and kept few possessions alive simply by crashing the glass, even if she didn’t manage to grab the board.

Following the game, Jaquez spoke about how this group came together over common goals.

“We have a lot of confidence in our team. We have all grown. . .and we’ve added new members, and I just couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this team,” Jaquez said. “Everyone came to UCLA for this reason, to do something we haven’t done in a really long time, or in the NCAA era. Just really proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches for just continuing to get better every day and grow from each season prior.”