SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The UCLA Bruins left their locker room for the second half of their Sweet 16 matchup against Minnesota with an important goal: get what they call a "kill". Get three stops in a row.
The Bruins lacked their usual defensive intensity in the first half. And it led to stagnant offense. They weren't controlling the boards. They missed nine layups. They entered halftime with just a five-point lead. But everything changed in the third quarter.
They got the three consecutive stops they were searching for. And from there, they cruised to an 80-56 victory to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.
"It's just coming out with a mentality that you're just going to take away what they want to do," senior center Lauren Betts said. "You can talk about the little details that we made. But I think it all starts with just that aggressive mentality that we were just going to come out and make things really hard for them. That motivates us a little bit -- if we want to play how we want to play on offense, we've gotta take away what they want on defense."
UCLA relied on a full-court press for the majority of the half, but they couldn't fully hold off the Gophers in any way meaningful way. And the offense struggled as well. The Bruins opened the game shooting just 2-of-7 in the paint.
"We weren't worried about whether shots go in or not," senior guard Kiki Rice said. "We were just focused on dictating defensively and being aggressive."
Head coach Cori Close added: "We really did not shoot it well ... (but) we didn't let that dictate our defensive intensity. The motions of being frustrated on offense. That's something we've been challenging them on."
So, they exited halftime wanting to get three stops in a row to change the tune of the game. They did. And then held Minnesota scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter. As they continued to minimize their mistakes on defense, their offense picked up.
Rice scored eight of her team-high 21 points in the third. Gabriela Jaquez also provided a spark, and ended the game with 10 points. Angela Dugalic tallied a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Bruins finished the night scoring 52 points in the paint - the third consecutive game they've scored at least 50 points in the paint. On Friday, they shot 63% on 26-of-41 shooting from inside the paint. Outside of it, they went just 6-of-20 (30%).
One of the tallest teams in the country, playing in the post has been an emphasis for UCLA all season long. Between the bigs they have - centered around Betts, who finished with 15 points and five blocks - and the way their 3-point shooting can spread the floor, they always have options down low. But their Sweet 16 game highlighted another reason why they need to have that paint presence.
"I was telling them ... you guys, we have to be built for the days in which those threes don't fall," Close said. "And today they didn't fall. But when you are built through the paint and built with a confidence of how to get that, you weather those storms."
It's those tools that UCLA feels show that they can get beyond the Elite Eight and back to the Final Four.
"I think all season our goal is to get better, to put four quarters together, to put 40 minutes together," Rice said. "I think we're still continuing to get better in that."