No. 5 UCLA women overcome slow start to beat No. 17 Louisville 66-59 in Paris
UCLA forward Timea Gardiner, left, tries a shot against Louisville's forward Elif Istanbulluoglu, right, during an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. Credit: AP/Aurelien Morissard
PARIS — Lauren Betts had 18 points and four blocks as No. 5 UCLA beat No. 17 Louisville 66-59 in the second match of a season-opening doubleheader in France on Monday.
Timea Gardiner had 15 points and Londynn Jones contributed 13 for UCLA.
Tajianna Roberts had a game-high 21 points for Louisville, which opened up an 18-13 lead at the end of the first quarter but then proved wasteful in attack.
Louisville was 6 of 29 from 3-point range compared to 8 of 23 for UCLA. Gardiner made five of them and Jones was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
The 8,000-capacity Adidas Arena, home to the men’s Paris Basketball team, was just over half full for the second game.
Earlier Monday, No. 3 Southern California scored in the final seconds to beat Mississippi 68-66.
Takeaways
UCLA: The imposing physicality of Betts and Gardiner on defense did much to contain Louisville's speedy attacks. The standout pair also combined at the other end for Gardiner's neat 3-pointer from wide right late in the game.
UCLA forward Angela Dugalic, left, controls the ball against Louisville guard Imari Berri, right, during an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. Credit: AP/Aurelien Morissard
Louisville: Louisville had some good scoring bursts but could not sustain them long enough to put UCLA under significant pressure.
Key moment
Betts found Jones with a cross-court pass for a 3-pointer on the second-quarter buzzer, as UCLA took a 32-29 halftime lead to stem Louisville’s momentum.
Key stat
75 — Betts' shooting percentage, making nine of her 12 shots.
Up Next
Louisville has a short turnaround before hosting Southern Indiana on Friday and UCLA is at home to Colgate at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
