No. 2 UCLA fends off No. 13 Ohio State 77-71 to win 10th straight
Charisma Osborne had 19 points and Lauren Betts had 17 to help No. 2 UCLA beat No. 13 Ohio State 77-71 on Monday night.
UCLA (10-0) overcame a sluggish first half and dominated the boards on the way to its 10th straight win of the season.
Ohio State (9-2) began the game leading 7-0, shooting 3 of 4 and forcing two turnovers.
But the Bruins battled back. The two teams knotted at 17 points apiece after the first quarter which saw the Buckeyes fall cold late going 2 for 11 to close the period.
UCLA shot a game-high 53.8% in the second quarter, and the Bruins had a 37-31 halftime lead.
Osborne went 4-of-12 in the second half and led UCLA with 14 points across the third and fourth quarters.
The Bruins led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Kiki Rice had 15 points and Gabriela Jaquez had 11 points for the Bruins.
Charisma Osborne drains a 3-pointer from DEEP to extend UCLA's lead over Ohio State
Ohio State got as close as four points after a 12-3 run with 6 seconds left in the game.
Jacy Sheldon had a game-high 30 points and Taylor Thierry added 20 for the Buckeyes.
BIG PICTURE
UCLA: The Bruins claim their 10th win in a row and second straight over a ranked opponent. They are 3-0 against ranked opponents this season with wins over UConn, Florida State and the Buckeyes.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes’ nine-game winning streak comes to an end after surrendering 18 assists, a season high. Their press defense wasn’t as sharp as usual and Ohio State was beat 40-30 on the glass.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
