UCLA women Final Four bound after rally for big victory over Duke

SACRAMENTO – Sometimes you just have to find a way.

Before tipoff inside the Golden 1 Center on Sunday, the national anthem singer’s microphone cut out only moments into the song.

But as if on cue, the crowd broke the uneasy silence by singing along. By the end of the song, a new microphone had been found and everybody was in sync.

Over the next two hours, there was a similar arc involving the UCLA women’s basketball team.

Completely out of sorts in the first half, the Bruins pulled together, nobody wanting this run to end short of the Final Four for their six seniors who had given this program so much.

There’s more basketball to play for top-seeded UCLA after it rallied for a 70-58 victory over third-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Surging ahead with a 15-2 run to end the third quarter and open the fourth, the Bruins shook off their early turnover problems to reach a second consecutive Final Four.

“Final Four!” jubliant fans chanted in the final minute. “Final Four!”

UCLA (35-1) will play either Texas or Michigan in a national semifinal on Friday at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix in the Bruins’ second consecutive appearance in the Final Four.

They’ll be seeking their first NCAA title after losing to UConn in a semifinal last year.

Center Lauren Betts overpowered the Blue Devils (27-9) with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. The Bruins also got a huge spark off the bench from Angela Dugalic, who tallied 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

The season goes on after UCLA mostly cleaned up its turnover issues and outscored Duke, 20-8, in the third quarter.

UCLA could finally forget about its early troubles late in the third quarter when Gianna Kneepkens rose for a straightaway 3-pointer that pushed the Bruins into a 47-45 lead. Kneepkens roared in celebration as the Bruins fans who packed most of the lower bowl of the arena howled in delight.

Dugalic followed with a turnaround jumper, layup and a putback in which she was fouled. By the time she made the resulting free throw, the Bruins were up 56-47 early in the fourth quarter and well on the way to their 29th consecutive victory.

It didn’t take long for UCLA to realize it was in for a far different challenge than it faced in November on the way to a 30-point blowout of the Blue Devils without Lauren and Sienna Betts.

Coming off a breathless buzzer-beater against LSU two days earlier, Duke was fearless in attacking the Bruins from the opening tip.

The Blue Devils built an early double-digit lead, largely on the strength of UCLA’s sloppiness.

After a first half in which her team struggled to run its offense, UCLA coach Cori Close huddled with point guards Kiki Rice and Charlisse Leger-Walker in front of the bench before heading to the locker room.

The Bruins piled up 12 turnovers – many unforced – in falling into a 39-31 halftime hole, and that was after five relatively clean minutes to close the half.

Midway through the second quarter, UCLA already had tallied 10 turnovers. Leger-Walker tried to find Angela Dugalic inside with a bounce pass that went out of bounds. Kneepkens stepped out of bounds. Lauren Betts committed an offensive foul. The Bruins couldn’t get a shot off on another possession, leading to a shot-clock violation.

The list went on.

Meanwhile, Duke executed at a much higher level while building a 10-point lead. The Blue Devils did a good job of denying Lauren Betts the ball or swarming her when she finally did get it. Betts had eight points on a meager five shots to go with only two rebounds at the game’s midpoint.

Things would soon get much better for Betts and her team.