UCLA center Lauren Betts high-fives players and coaches during pregame introductions before the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Richmond, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) UCLA coach Cori Close talks with center Lauren Betts (51) during the second half of a game against Richmond in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) UCLA forwards Timea Gardiner (30) and Janiah Barker (0) react during the second half of a game against Richmond in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Richmond forward Anna Camden (11) dribbles against UCLA forward Kendall Dudley (22) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) UCLA forward Timea Gardiner (30) and Richmond guard Katie Hill (25) fight for a loose ball during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Richmond guard Rachel Ullstrom (22), UCLA forward Janiah Barker (0) and guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) fight for a rebound during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Richmond guard Faith Alston (12) dribbles against UCLA guard Elina Aarnisalo (7) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) drives to the basket against Richmond guard Katie Hill (25) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Richmond guard Ally Sweeney (14) dribbles against UCLA guard Londynn Jones (3) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) UCLA center Lauren Betts, center, goes to the basket against Richmond guard Ally Sweeney (14), and forwards Addie Budnik (20) and Maggie Doogan (44) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Show Caption1 of 10UCLA center Lauren Betts high-fives players and coaches during pregame introductions before the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Richmond, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Expand LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team took one final stroll around Pauley Pavilion on Sunday night, waving to the fans who had supplied so much energy that evening. The Bruins are headed to Spokane and making a return to the Sweet 16 – the round in which they were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament last season. The Bruins found their stride in the third quarter to put Richmond away 84-67 in their last home game of the season. “That was definitely one of my favorite crowds I’ve played in front of,” point guard Kiki Rice said. “Their energy and how they carried us – especially in the third quarter – to bring us that extra boost, we really appreciated that.” Lauren Betts scored a game-high 30 points and pulled down 14 boards. Rice added 23 and dished out seven assists in the Bruins’ third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. @haleymsawyer The UCLA women’s basketball team salutes its fans after beating Richmond 84-67 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. #sports #womensbasketball #basketball #ucla #marchmadness #collegebasketball #ncaatournament ♬ original sound – Haley Sawyer UCLA turned the ball over a season-low five times in the game after committing 17 turnovers in its first-round game against Southern. “That was something we were very proud of in the locker room,” Rice said. “We haven’t been happy with the amount of turnovers we’ve had in the past few games. As guards, that’s on us to really find the right people and put everyone in good positions.” Top-seeded UCLA will proceed to the Spokane Regional, which is slated for March 28-31 at Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington. The Bruins are in search of their first Final Four appearance after falling to LSU in the Sweet Sixteen last season. UCLA used an 18-2 scoring run to pull away in the third quarter after being tied with the Spiders at halftime. The Bruins hit three 3-pointers in a span of roughly two minutes to gain a 55-43 lead with five minutes remaining and went on to shoot 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. Londynn Jones banked two of those shots to bring the crowd of 6,119 to a roar loud enough to drown out the game announcer. Rice recorded a season-high four 3-pointers, capitalizing on catch-and-shoot opportunities. “I call her the ‘Point God.’ She’s really like that girl,” Betts said of Rice. “I’m just proud she was confident in her shot today. I just thought that was super cool to see, especially on the kick-outs. I’m just like, yes, Kiki, shoot every single time.” UCLA attacked the glass and scored 12 second-chance points in the third while the defense limited Richmond, which earned its first NCAA Tournament win on Friday, to seven points. Eighth-seeded Richmond owned the No. 5 three-point percentage in the country heading into the game at 38.32% but took an outside-in approach throughout the first half to tie the game at 36-all at the break. The Spiders scored the majority of their points in the paint yet still made 4 of 7 shots from range at that point. Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Maggie Doogan contributed 16 points in the opening half and finished with a team-high 27 points. “We’ll be the first to tell you as a staff: Everybody looks at the three-point shooting, but we’re a program that’s looking for the exact opposite,” Richmond head coach Aaron Roussell said. “We’re trying to puncture the paint, and we’re trying to get stuff at the basket and hopefully those three-point shots come from that. I think it was the right game plan. We were still scoring and I felt like that was the big thing for us. Let’s get easy baskets. If they are going to take away the arc, they are going to have to exert a lot of effort.” UCLA put together a 7-0 scoring run in the second quarter after trailing 20-18 at the end of the opening frame. Betts, a USBWA First Team All-American, held her ground at center and scored 14 points in the first half while collecting four rebounds on the offensive end despite facing double and triple-teams. Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year Janiah Barker spent most of the second quarter on the bench with an apparent injury. She had an ice pack at the base of her neck when she went with the team to the locker room at halftime. Head coach Cori Close told reporters after the game that Barker was overheating. Even with Barker limited, the Bruins had built up enough of a cushion in the third quarter to preserve a roughly 20-point lead in the remainder of the game. “I loved our response on defense in that third quarter,” Close said. “The intensity was so much better. We made some slight adjustments on about three different actions out of halftime, and they adjusted to all of them. And I loved the crowd — how they got behind that intensity. That was a really big deal.” Related Articles College Sports | NCAA Tournament: UCLA women thrive off Janiah Barker’s unique style College Sports | Swanson: UCLA’s Londynn Jones never sweats the ‘small’ stuff College Sports | Top-seeded UCLA women crush Southern in NCAA Tournament opener College Sports | NCAA Tournament: UCLA women brimming with accolades and confidence College Sports | Alexander: What we learned, deduced and guessed on NCAA Selection Sunday ...read more read less