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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

No. 10 UCLA defeats Washington State

Borislava Hristova continues to climb the ranks of the Pac-12’s all-time scoring leaders. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Michaela Onyenwere scored 23 points and Chrisma Osborne added 16 as No. 10 UCLA recovered from a slow start to earn a 66-50 victory over Washington State on Sunday.

The Bruins (18-1, 7-1 Pac-12) won despite shooting just 37% from the field and they did not make a 3-pointer in 15 attempts. UCLA improved to 11-0 at home and have won consecutive games after a double-overtime defeat at USC on Jan. 17.

Borislava Hristova scored 14 points for Washington State (9-11, 2-6), which saw its losing streak extend to four games. She passed Stanford’s Nicole Powell for 20th on the Pac-12 Conference’s all-time scoring list for women’s basketball. Hristova, a redshirt senior, has 2,066 career points and is 13 points away from passing Stanford’s Val Whiting for 19th.

The Cougars held the lead through much of the first quarter before UCLA picked up the pace with a pressure defense.

The Bruins were just 1 of 7 from the field to start the game but never trailed by more than three. The game was tied 14-14 after one quarter.

UCLA took command in the second quarter, holding the Cougars to 3 of 15 (20 percent) from the field and just six points to take a 32-20 lead into halftime. They were never threatened from there.

Japreece Dean scored 10 points for UCLA.

The Bruins held the Cougars to 35.5% from the field and forced 19 Washington State turnovers. UCLA had a 19-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

UCLA held a slim 38-32 advantage in points in the paint and an even tighter 42-41 rebounding advantage.

Consecutive victories over Washington and Washington gives UCLA some momentum as its schedule is about to intensify. The Bruins visit No. 16 Arizona State and No. 18 Arizona next weekend, before visiting No. 6 Stanford on Feb. 7. Then come home games against No. 4 Oregon and No. 7 Oregon State the weekend of Feb 14-17.

Big picture

Washington State: The Cougars fell to 0-8 against ranked teams this season and have lost 30 consecutive games overall against teams in the top 25. Their last victory against a ranked team was in 2017 at home against then-No. 9 UCLA.

UCLA: The Bruins have never lost a home game Washington State, improving to 32-0 against the Cougars on Sunday and also improving to 56-8 in the all-time series. . UCLA head coach Cori Close improved to 190-100 in nine seasons at the school, with 10 regular-season games remaining on the Bruins’ schedule. . The Bruins are two victories away from their fifth consecutive 20-win season.