UCLA defeats Iowa to win Big Ten Tournament for second straight year

A lopsided first quarter led No. 2 UCLA to a 96-45 rout of No. 9 Iowa in the Big Ten Conference championship game on Sunday in Indianapolis.

The top-seeded Bruins (31-1) have won their second straight Big Ten Tournament title and 25th straight. They capped off a perfect campaign against Big Ten competition with complete dominance on both ends of the floor.

Gianna Kneepkens led six UCLA players in double figures with 19 points, followed by Kiki Rice with 15 points and Sienna Betts with 14 points. Gabriella Jaquez (12), Charlis Leger-Walker (11), and Lauren Betts (10) followed.

Of UCLA’s 40 field goals, 34 came from assists. Rice’s eight set the pace, Leger-Walker, Sienna Betts and Angela Dugalic each distributed five, and eight of the 10 Bruins who saw the floor had at least one assist.

Kneepkens also hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range, helping UCLA shoot 50 percent from deep. The Bruins were 13 of 26 from beyond the arc while limiting Iowa to 5 of 23 shooting.

The second-seeded Hawkeyes (26-6) were led by Ava Heiden (15 points) and Addison Deal (11 points). As a team, they made just 12 of 38 shots from inside the arc.

UCLA’s ferocious defense also forced the Hawkeyes into 19 turnovers, which the Bruins converted into 26 points.

UCLA successfully paced both takeaways and rebounds, sparking runs of 13-0 and 9-0 during the first quarter. The Bruins continued their frenetic pace in the second quarter, scoring on back-to-back steals (the first by Rice and the next by Lauren Betts) that turned into immediate layups by Dugalic and Rice.

A flurry of shooting gave the Bruins a 19-point lead, and a pair of 3-pointers by Kneepkens and Leger-Walker extended the lead to 23 less than four minutes into the period. Leger-Walker hit three 3-point shots that day.

The Bruins wouldn’t give up, with Kneepkens scoring 13 second-half points over the final 20 minutes to secure a 54-25 win.

–Field level media