Women's Basketball Falls To No. 3 UCLA, 77-74

Friday, November 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

2:30 PM

Princeton University

2-1,0-0Ivy League

#3 UCLA

4-0,0-0Pac-12

Princeton

UCLA

Kaitlyn Chen scored a game-high 24 points

Photo by: Josh Barber

November 17, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

LOS ANGELES – The Princeton Women's Basketball Team took the No. 3 UCLA Bruins to the limit but fell 77-74 at Pauley Pavilion on Friday evening.

After two free throws from Madison St. Rose got the Tigers with in two, 76-74, with eight seconds to go, Princeton fouled and got a chance as UCLA's Kiki Rice went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Following a timeout from Carla Berube, the Tigers' long-distance heave was off the mark, leaving the Bruins with a three-point decision.

UCLA finished off the first quarter with a 11-3 run to hold a 17-8 advantage after 10 minutes.

Trailing by six, 22-16, with 6:27 left in the first half, Princeton got hot, making eight straight baskets, turning around the contest to take a 35-32 lead at the break.

Skye Belker did not miss in the first 20 minutes, going 4-of-4 from the floor with three treys, contributing 11 points. The Tigers missed one shot in the second stanza, shooting 10-of-11.

After back-to-back field goals from the Bruins put them ahead, 43-42, the Tigers ripped off seven straight which included five points from Belker to jump in front, 49-43, with 5:19 remaining in the third frame.

The two teams went back and forth and were tied at 56-all after three quarters.

UCLA went onto hold a four-point lead, 64-60, as the clock read 6:05, but Princeton did not go away, registering a 6-0 push to jump back on top, 66-64. The Bruins countered with a 6-0 run of its own, to set the score at 70-66 with 1:49 to go.

After free throws from both teams, Kaitlyn Chen hit a bucket to get within two, 74-72, with 23 seconds left. UCLA's Charisma Osborne scored two from the charity stripe followed by two from Madison St. Rose before the final sequence.

Chen led all scorers with 24 points, adding three assists and three steals. Belker dropped in 20 points (a new career mark) on 6-of-8 shooting with four rebounds. St. Rose put up 15 points while Mari Bickley was 4-of-5 from the floor with nine points and two helpers in the loss.

Princeton heads to the University of San Diego on Sunday. Tip is set for 5 p.m ET, 2 p.m. PT.