First half stutter turns into second half stomping in No. 1 UCLA’s win over No. 16 Cal Baptist

LOS ANGELES – UCLA may not have too many problems with this team, but a slow start is the most obvious example.

It’s happened before in tight games against teams like Ohio State, Michigan and Washington. Even though all of these games ended in wins for UCLA, there were still some interesting moments early on where the results were in question.

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The matchup between No. 1 UCLA and No. 16 Cal Baptist in the first round of the NCAA Tournament is no different. The Lancers were a clear underdog in the game and had something to prove.

Su Dewen-Sports Tribune

UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens #8 dives to steal the ball during the NCAA women’s basketball game between California Baptist University and University of California Los Angeles at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

“My idea is to try to show everybody that we’re better than No. 16,” Cal Baptist junior guard Filipa Barros said. “We have nothing to lose. So, we’re just trying to do our best to prove to everyone that they’re wrong.”

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Aggressive and strong

The Lancers entered Pauley Pavilion combatively, ready to shoot. Head coach Jarrod Olson said the team takes pride in its pace of play and talent from three-point range, both of which were on display.

Their pace rushed UCLA and limited the Bruins’ scoring, while the Lancers’ performance from three-point range, especially early in the game, allowed them to keep up with one of the best teams in the country before going into halftime trailing by just 10 points, 44-34.

Su Dewen-Sports Tribune

CBU guard Chance Bucher #10 looks for teammates during the NCAA women’s basketball game between California Baptist University and UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

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UCLA players have been quick to take responsibility for their shortcomings before head coach Corey Close arrived, but that hasn’t stopped UCLA’s captain from having tough conversations with them.

Recovery in the second half

“The atmosphere was electric,” Close said of her conversations with the team. “It’s unacceptable. It’s not the fact that we missed the ball. Those are not the things that really excite me. It’s when we don’t execute on the scouting reports. When we’re lazy. When we don’t communicate … those are the controllable things that we promised each other that we’re going to deliver on.”

Whatever this “enthusiastic” talk actually meant, it did the trick.

Su Dewen-Sports Tribune

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UCLA head coach Cori Close watches the NCAA women’s basketball game between California Baptist University and University of California Los Angeles at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

The Bruins outscored the Lancers 52-9 and ended the game on a 21-2 run to take over the game 96-43. By the end, three Bruins players, graduate forward Angela Dugalic, senior center Lauren Bates and freshman forward Sienna Bates, all finished with double-doubles.

While the end result was typically dominant, the way it started revealed issues the Bruins really need to address moving forward in the tournament. As Close describes giving up points due to a lack of commitment to controllable factors, survival will become less and less likely as the pool of talent in the competition becomes more equal.

“We’ve had a few instances of this throughout the year… We don’t want to dwell on the past, but we need to learn from our mistakes,” Dugalic said. “That’s something we need to overemphasize and overplay. Those warm-ups, the first start of the game, even going into the second half.”

Su Dewen-Sports Tribune

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UCLA center Lauren Betts #51 during the NCAA women’s basketball game between California Baptist University and UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

Currently, UCLA has advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they will face Oklahoma State University.

For Cal Baptist, even though their season is over, they can go home with a sense of satisfaction that, for at least a moment, they made the Bruins sweat.

“In my opinion, this is the best team in the country and we gave them everything they could handle for about 20 minutes,” Olson said. “Unfortunately, whatever Corey [Close] What I said to them at halftime really kept them going…but I’m really proud of the way we played and the effort we had. “