INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Londynn Jones made six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points Saturday, leading No. 4 UCLA to a 75-46 rout over No. 13 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
The victory sets up a third showdown between the league’s regular-season champ, No. 2 Southern California, and the runner-up Bruins on Sunday. The Trojans swept the first two meetings, and Round 3 of the cross-town rivalry is what many hoped to see.
Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez each scored 12 points in limited action. Betts had six rebounds, Jaquez had five as UCLA (29-2) won its second straight by double digits.
Jaloni Cambridge scored 10 points to lead the Buckeyes (25-6).
But this game was never really close after the Bruins took a 16-5 lead less than five minutes into the game. UCLA then closed the first half on a 9-0 spurt, keeping Ohio State scoreless over the final 3:09, to take a 44-21 lead.
Takeaways
Ohio State: The Buckeyes played well most of this season but struggled in every facet of the game — shooting, defense and rebounding — against the more motivated Bruins.
UCLA: Coach Cori Close’s team came to Indy with a mission — getting another shot at the Trojans. They’ve certainly played well so far, although the real challenge comes Sunday.
Key moment
Betts scored her first points on back-to-back baskets early in the second quarter and her presence helped fuel the closing first-half run from which the Buckeyes never recovered.
Key stat
Ohio State was outrebounded 21-9 in the first half and was outscored 22-4 in second-chance points during the first two quarters.
Up next
The Buckeyes have a week to figure out what went wrong before starting NCAA Tournament play.
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