UCLA’s win over Baylor is no surprise
No. 8 Bruins have no problem beating third-ranked Bears
LOS ANGELES — UCLA did its dancing before taking on No. 3 Baylor. Afterward, the Bruins walked away winners in a calm and collected fashion.
Monique Billings scored 21 points, Jordin Canada added 20 and No. 8 UCLA won 82-68 on Saturday for its first win over the Lady Bears since 1996.
“We were excited, but we expected to win,” Bruins coach Cori Close said. “We talked about having an ‘I will’ mentality. There was a real calm, we did what we set out to do.”
Kennedy Burke had 19 points for the Bruins (3-0), who held the Lady Bears to 40 percent shooting. Baylor came in leading the nation in that category at 61 percent.
The victory extended UCLA’s home winning streak to 32 games, the second-longest active stretch in the country behind topranked UConn, which visits Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night.
In a hallway leading to the court, the Bruins danced and laughed before tipoff. Then they got serious. The Lady Bears came out punching, taking a 12-4 lead to start the game.
The Bruins settled down, responded with their own 16-2 spurt, and the Lady Bears were in catch-up mode the rest of the game.
“It was about staying composed,” Canada said. “We didn’t get frazzled. We just did us and that was important when they came out and punched first.”
Kalani Brown scored 33 points despite playing with four fouls for Baylor (3-1).
“We needed this game, a tough game, for our freshmen,” Brown said. “We’re going to fix some things.”
EASTERN NEW MEXICO 53, NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS 34: In Las Vegas, N.M., the Greyhounds (1-2) stepped up defensively in their first win of the season. ENMU limited New Mexico Highlands (1-3) to 22.2 percent shooting in a victory.
Kaylee Edgemon led ENMU with 11 points.
LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN 85, WESTERN NEW MEXICO 44: In Lubbock, Texas, Ciara Fields scored 12 points to lead the Mustangs (0-3) in their loss to the Lady Chaps (4-0).
Men
No. 17 GONZAGA 79,
UTAH STATE 66: In Spokane, Wash., Killian Tillie scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Gonzaga beat Utah State.
Corey Kispert and Silas Melson each scored 12 points for Gonzaga (3-0).
Sam Merrill scored 19 points for Utah State (2-2).
The Aggies played without guard Koby McEwen, a preseason all-Mountain West selection, because of an ankle injury. No. 19 PURDUE 106, FAIRFIELD 64: In West Lafayette, Ind., Dakota Mathias, Vince Edwards and P.J Thompson combined for 46 first-half points and Purdue made 13 of 18 shots from 3-point range before halftime, crushing Fairfield (2-1).
Mathias, Edwards and Thompson — all seniors — were a collective 13 of 15 from beyond the arc during the first 20 minutes for the Boilermakers (4-0). No. 20 NORTHWESTERN 82, LA SALLE 74: In Uncasville, Conn., Bryant McIntosh scored 21 points and Scottie Lindsey added 20 to lead the Wildcats to a win over La Salle in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
The Wildcats (3-1) advance to play Texas Tech in Sunday’s championship. No. 22 SETON HALL 82,
NJIT 53: In Newark, N.J., Desi Rodriguez scored 19 points and Seton Hall used an 18-2 second-half run to shake off pesky NJIT (1-2).
Sophomore Myles Powell added 13 points and freshman Myles Cale had a 3-point basket and a threepoint play in the big run in for the Pirates (4-0). No. 24 WEST VIRGINIA 111, MORGAN STATE 48: In Morgantown, W.Va., Daxter Miles had a career-high 32 points to leading West Virginia in a victory over Morgan State (2-2).
The Mountaineers (2-1) opened the game with a 14-3 run. EASTERN NEW MEXICO 86, AZUSA PACIFIC 70: In Monmouth, Ore., the Greyhounds utilized a 52-point second half to upend Azusa Pacific at the Western Oregon D2 Shootout. NM HIGHLANDS 90, NORTHERN NM 81: In Las Vegas, N.M., the Cowboys (4-1) handed the Eagles (2-11) their 10th straight loss.