No. 2-ranked UCLA is set to continue its winter road trip with a conference matchup against Illinois on Wednesday at State Farm Arena in Urbana-Champaign. The Bruins, who hold a 19-1 overall record and are undefeated in Big Ten play at 9-0, will face the Fighting Illini (15-5, 5-4 B1G) at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on B1G+.
UCLA trails Illinois 3-2 in their all-time series but has won two of the last three meetings since 2000. In Big Ten play, UCLA leads the series 1-0 after defeating Illinois 70-55 on Feb. 20, 2025.
In their most recent outing, the Bruins secured an 80-46 win over Northwestern. Senior Gabriela Jaquez led with 19 points on efficient shooting, while Lauren Betts contributed 16 points and three steals. Kiki Rice added a double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds, and Gianna Kneepkens scored twelve points. The team recorded fifteen steals and outrebounded Northwestern by nineteen boards.
The Bruins began the season ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 Women’s Basketball Poll released on October 14 and faced several top-ranked teams early in the year, finishing November with a record of three wins and one loss against ranked opponents. Their schedule included multiple neutral site games, notably participating twice in Las Vegas for the WBCA Challenge and Players Era Women’s Championship, where they posted a combined record of three wins and one loss.
Currently, seven Big Ten programs appear in the AP Top 25 for week twelve: No. 2 UCLA, No. 8 Iowa, No. 9 Michigan, No.11 Ohio State, No.13 Michigan State, No.16 Maryland, and No.25 Washington; Minnesota, Nebraska, and Illinois received votes.
Last season saw UCLA achieve a program-record twenty-three consecutive wins—twenty-two of those by double digits—surpassing their previous best from the championship campaign of 1977-78.
This year’s roster features seven McDonald’s All Americans: Lauren Betts, Sienna Betts, Angela Dugalić, Timea Gardiner, Gabriela Jaquez, Amanda Muse, and Kiki Rice; Jaquez and Rice were co-MVPs in the all-star game.
UCLA was recognized as USBWA National Team of the Week after going undefeated from Nov.10–15 with victories over Oklahoma and North Carolina.
Four Bruins average double-digit scoring this season; their starting five combines for an average of nearly seventy points per game. Six players have reached or exceeded twenty points in a single contest this year; multiple players have done so together four times.
Statistically within conference play so far this season:
• UCLA leads in field goal percentage (.516), opponent field goal percentage (.357), total assists (453), assists per game (22.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.76), rebounding margin (+15.8 RPG—second nationally), scoring margin (+30.9), and three-point percentage (.391—third nationally).
• The Bruins rank second nationally in NET rankings with ten Quad One wins (10–1).
