LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team often blocks off a portion of its practice to run over actions intended to feed a player who has the “hot hand.”
On Wednesday, that player was Londynn Jones.
For 15 minutes, each set was created for her to be the go-to scoring option. She’d pop off elevator screens, curl to the basket and shoot off the catch.
That drill showed its worth on Thursday night when Jones scored a career-high 23 points and made a career-high seven 3-point shots as the 12th-ranked Bruins never trailed while routing No. 18 Utah, 82-52, to avenge an overtime loss a month ago.
While Wednesday’s drill was curated to Jones, it seemed like it could have been anyone in that spot based on the Bruins’ offensive showing on Thursday. They shot 49% from the field and 39% from 3-point range, assisting on 24 of their 32 field goals.
Lauren Betts had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Bruins (21-5 overall, 10-5 Pac-12), while Charisma Osborne had 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Betts anchored a defense that held Utah (19-8, 9-6) – the NCAA’s No. 6 offense in points per game – to its second-lowest total of the season.
UCLA, which snapped a three-game skid against the Utes after losing 94-81 in Salt Lake City, started the rematch on a 12-0 run that was sparked by its defense and Betts’ quick decision-making on offense.
The Bruins forced three turnovers in the opening two minutes, the first two coming on entry passes to Alissa Pili. Pili led the Utes with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but she was an inefficient 4-of-11 shooting from the field, often deterred by Betts’ length. She scored half of her points by making all 10 of her free-throw attempts.
To get their leading scorer going, the Utes put her in ball screen actions that forced a guard to switch onto Pili in the post. UCLA countered that by hounding entry passes and creating turnovers that led to transition opportunities.
With nine seconds…
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