With Lauren Betts out, No. 1 UCLA survives No. 22 Michigan State upset bid in thriller
Londynn Jones made a pull-up jumper.
Kiki Rice got a steal.
Janiah Barker scored a tough putback layup.
Rice hit free throws.
And then, Timea Gardiner hit the biggest three of the season for the Bruins with 44 seconds to go.
Top-ranked UCLA has proven to be one of the deepest teams in the nation, and they showed it again Sunday night, overcoming the absence of their leading scorer to defeat No. 22 Michigan State 75-69 in a March Madness-like thriller.
Read more: UCLA projected to get NCAA tournament overall No. 1 seed in first bracket reveal
UCLA star center Lauren Betts did not play because of a foot injury. She wore an air cast during pregame warmups and is considered day-to-day, the team announced.
Making up for Betts' absence required a collective effort, and Barker did her part. One of her best plays came with just over a minute left before halftime when she stole the ball from Michigan State's Nyla Hampton and scored on an easy layup to put the Bruins ahead 41-28 with just over a minute before halftime.
Barker finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Gardiner also had 18 points for the Bruins to go along with four rebounds. Rice's 16 points and seven assists were also crucial.
But UCLA (24-1 overall, 12-1 Big Ten) missed Betts' defensive presence — the Spartans scored 22 points in the paint in the first half.
Michigan State (19-6, 9-5) was the more physical team early in the second half, forcing five UCLA turnovers in the first five minutes. Theryn Hallock and Julia Ayrault led the way for Michigan State as they erased UCLA's eight-point halftime lead. The Spartans took their first lead late in the third quarter off a Jocelyn Tate layup and held a 55-53 lead going into the fourth.
Michigan State extended its lead with two free throws on the first possession and led for most of the fourth until Gardiner's critical three-pointer put the Bruins ahead by two.
Read more: Mistakes on defense and turnovers prove costly for UCLA in first loss
Rice extended the lead to four after hitting two free throws following a Michigan State team technical foul. Rice hit two more free throws with 13 seconds left to secure the UCLA win.
As time expired, Barker grabbed a missed layup from Grace VanSlooten and waved to the raucous Pauley Pavilion crowd.
The Bruins will play host to Illinois on Thursday.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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