Gabriela Jaquez Steps Up In Bruins March Madness Victory
UCLA's star guard delivered on the biggest stage
UCLA women’s basketball trampled South Carolina to win its first national championship on Sunday.
The Bruins were downright dominant in the championship game. They stretched their win streak to 31 as Gabriella Jaquez put up 21 points in the contest. UCLA truly capitalized on the Gamecocks’ mistakes early, jumping out to a 10 point first quarter lead.
The blue and gold won the tip-off and scored first, and the Bruins never looked back, but Jaquez led the latter half of the fight. ⅔ of Jaquez’s points came in a stunning second half, as the Bruins ran away with the victory. UCLA held a solid lead throughout the contest, but that’s not to say South Carolina didn’t try to fight back. The Gamecocks just took too long to get truly started.
South Carolina struggled to score throughout the first half of the game, and because of that, several of Jaquez’s rebounds came from the missed baskets. She was a thorn in South Carolina’s side all night, and even after it cleaned up the offensive woes, it was too late. Jaquez was already warm.
Jaquez was all over the ball Sunday night. She added 10 rebounds and 5 assists to go with her great scoring, as well as 2 deep three-pointers.
