Lauren Betts scores a career-high 33 points as No. 1 UCLA handles No. 8 Maryland, 82-67

Lauren Betts scored a career-high 33 points, Kiki Rice added 19, and No. 1 UCLA defeated No. 8 Maryland 82-67 on Sunday.

The Bruins (20-0, 8-0 Big Ten) have won their last 19 games by double figures.

Saylor Poffenbarger had 18 points for the Terrapins (16-4, 6-3), who have dropped three in a row. Maryland played without second-leading scorer Shyanne Sellers, who sat for the second consecutive game with a knee injury.

The Terps struggled to contain Betts, who methodically accepted entry passes in the low post and deposited them for easy baskets. The 6-foot-7 junior had 14 points in the first quarter and 24 by halftime. She surpassed her previous career high of 31 when she made two free throws with 4:31 left.

Betts shot 14 of 15, a school-record 93.3% with a minimum of 15 attempts. That surpassed the 88.9% Denise Curry shot against LSU in 1979. Betts added seven rebounds and four blocked shots.

Maryland has lost 10 consecutive games against top-ranked opponents since defeating North Carolina in the 2006 NCAA semifinals on the way to its only national title.

Takeaways

UCLA has not trailed in the second half of a conference game and have beaten Big Ten opponents by an average of 19.8 points.

Maryland has struggled to take care of the ball without Sellers and Bri McDaniel, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Jan. 14. During their three-game slide, the Terps have averaged 20.7 turnovers, including 18 against UCLA.

Key moment

Betts made a layup and Gabriela Jaquez finished a fastbreak on UCLA’s first two possessions of the second half to push the lead to 43-34. Maryland called timeout, but the Bruins never led by less than seven the rest of the game.

Key stats

UCLA had 22 assists on 30 field goals, while Maryland matched a season low with seven assists on 25 field goals.

Up next

UCLA has a week between games before playing host to Minnesota on Feb. 2.

Maryland visits Penn State on Wednesday.

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