STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Lauren Betts scored 25 points and surpassed 1,500 career points in leading No. 4 UCLA to a 97-61 rout of Penn State on Wednesday.
Gianna Kneepkens added 17 points, Kiki Rice scored 16 and Sienna Betts 10 for the Bruins (13-1, 3-0 Big Ten), who won their seventh in a row after leading for all but 31 seconds.
The Bruins, who entered averaging just over 95 points per game since their lone loss to the No. 2 Texas Longhorns on Nov. 27, found their offense immediately inside a quiet Rec Hall.
Lauren Betts finished 11 for 19 from the floor. She sunk a layup in the opening seconds to spark the first of a handful of lopsided runs for the Bruins.
Kneepkens and Rice added back-to-back three-pointers moments later before Kneepkens hit another long ball to put UCLA up 13-2 less than three minutes in.
Penn State (7-7, 0-3) responded with a pair of buckets, but Kneepkens drained her third three-pointer of the quarter and UCLA closed out the first on a 14-5 run shooting 58% from the floor.
The rout was on from there for the Bruins, who led by as many as 37 with 6:41 in the fourth quarter. They led 46-23 at halftime.
Gracie Merkle had 15 points and Kiyomi McMiller scored 13 for Penn State, which fell to 1-15 against AP top 10 teams since coach Carolyn Kieger’s first season in 2019.
Up next UCLA: vs. No. 17 USC at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night.
