How ready was the Southern women's basketball team for Wednesday's First Four game against UC San Diego? The Jaguars played what might have been their best first half of the season to create the separation that led to a 68-56 win in a First Four NCAA Tournament game in Los Angeles.
Playing two time zones away from Baton Rouge at UCLA's famed Pauley Pavilion made no difference to the Jaguars. Their first-half shooting numbers were the best they have put up this season. From the field, Southern made 17 of 29 shots, good for 58.6%, and 6 of 9 from 3-point range.
Soniyah Reed had the hottest hand, and Southern made sure she got plenty of touches. Reed made three 3-pointers in the first half, when she scored 19 of her career-high 24 points. Aniya Gourdine also made her mark with a pair of 3-pointers as Southern took a 40-20 halftime lead.
The 20-point halftime lead was too much for UC San Diego to overcome, and Southern (21-14) secured its first NCAA tournament win. The level of difficulty will increase exponentially Friday night.
As the No. 16 seed for Regional 1, Southern's next opponent is No. 1 UCLA (30-2), which is also the top seed for the entire tournament. UCLA has gone 11-2 against ranked opponents this season including a 77-62 takedown of then-No.1 South Carolina on Nov. 24.
The 30 wins are a first for UCLA, as is the school's No. 1 seeding for the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins began the season 23-0, but lost both regular-season meetings against crosstown rival USC.
The Bruins are led by All-America center Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 junior who leads her team with averages of 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. She also shoots 63.4% from the field.
Kiki Rice has a team-best 130 assists and scores 12.8 points per game. Gabriela Jaquez, Angela Dugalic and Janiah Barker all average more than five rebounds per outing for a UCLA team that is fourth nationally with 43.3 rebounds per game.
UCLA has not played since March 9, when the Bruins defeated USC 72-67 to claim the Big Ten Tournament title. Betts had 17 points, five rebounds and four blocks while Rice and Londynn Jones each scored 13.
For Southern, another fast start will likely be a necessity to keep pace with UCLA. The only time a No. 16 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA women's Tournament was in 1998, when Harvard upset Stanford 71-67.
