Betts, the Bruins’ 6-foot-7 AP All-American center, picked up her second and third fouls, the last for a technical foul, with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
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He sat out the rest of the first quarter and the second quarter, returned to the court after halftime and ended up playing nearly 24 minutes. He had only six points at halftime.
Angela Dugalic scored 12 points for UCLA (20-1, 10-0 Big Ten), which won its 14th straight. Gabriela Jaquez had 11, and Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Sienna Betts, Lauren’s sister, added 10 each.
Cearah Parchment had 26 points and seven rebounds for Illinois (15-6, 5-5) before fouling out with 36 seconds left. She made 10 of 13 field goals.
Destiny Jackson scored 15 points and six assists, Maddie Webber scored 12 points and Berry Wallace had 11 for the Illini.
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Illinois, which played without injured Gretchen Dolan, has lost five of seven after an 11-game winning streak.
UCLA led 45-31 at halftime. Illinois cut the lead to five points twice in the third quarter, but didn’t get any closer.
The Bruins won despite making just one 3-pointer, going 1-for-10 from long range. They had 48 points in the paint to Illinois’ 24 and also doubled the Illini in bench points, 24-12.
UCLA hasn’t lost since falling 76-65 to No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.
In the 10 games before facing Illinois, the Bruins outscored their opponents by an average of nearly 40 points and scored an average of over 91 points per game.
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Next
UCLA: Hosts No. 8 Iowa on Sunday.
Illinois: At No. 25 Washington on Sunday.
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