LOS ANGELES (Interstat) — UCLA defeated UC Irvine 78-42 on Thursday at Pauley Pavilion, pulling away over the final 10 minutes after building a large first-half lead. The Bruins improved to 2-0, while the Anteaters fell to 0-1. Attendance was 2,548. UCLA led from Sienna Betts making the opening jump shot and never trailed, using a 23-8 first quarter and a 42-21 halftime advantage to control the game before closing with a 14-0 fourth quarter.

The Bruins set the tone immediately. Betts made a jump shot with 9:48 remaining in the first quarter, Elina Aarnisalo followed with a 3-point jump shot and Donovyn Hunter added a layup for a 7-0 lead. Daniela Falcon Hernandez made a pullup jump shot at 7:42 to put UC Irvine on the board, but UCLA answered with Aarnisalo’s layup, Betts making another jump shot and Hunter adding another layup to extend the margin. The Anteaters got a late layup from Delaney White and a layup from Makiah Asidanya, but UCLA closed the first quarter with a free throw from Somto Okafor, a free throw from KK Bransford and a turnaround jump shot from Timea Gardiner for a 23-8 lead after one.

UC Irvine found more offense in the second quarter. Ahrray Young opened the period with a layup, and Shirel Nahum and Sarah Miller hit 3-pointers to help the Anteaters stay within reach. UCLA answered each push. Timea Gardiner made a pullup jump shot and two 3-pointers in the quarter, Betts added two layups, and Aarnisalo made a layup and two free throws. Okafor also made a free throw for the Bruins. Delaney White’s layup just before halftime made it 42-21.

The decisive stretch came at the start of the third quarter. KK Bransford made back-to-back layups, Betts added a layup and Aarnisalo hit a 3-point jump shot as UCLA opened the period with a 9-0 run to take a 51-21 lead. UC Irvine responded with a Young layup and later received scoring from White, Shirel Nahum and Summah Hanson. The Anteaters closed the third quarter with a 16-7 run, capped by Ahrray Young’s 3-point play, to make it 64-42.

The fourth quarter belonged entirely to UCLA. The Bruins held UC Irvine scoreless over the final 10 minutes and scored the game’s last 14 points. Donovyn Hunter made a floating jump shot with 7:43 remaining, KK Bransford hit a 3-point jump shot, Addy Brown made a layup, Aarnisalo made a layup and Betts made a layup. Betts then made one free throw and a turnaround jump shot to finish the scoring.

UC Irvine shot 14 of 59 from the floor, 3 of 22 from 3-point range and 11 of 13 from the free throw line. UCLA shot 31 of 68 from the floor, 6 of 24 from beyond the arc and 10 of 15 from the free throw line. UCLA held a 15-9 advantage in offensive rebounds, while UC Irvine finished with 10 assists to UCLA’s 11. The Bruins had four blocks to the Anteaters’ two, and UCLA committed 17 turnovers to UC Irvine’s 16. UC Irvine scored 42 points from 72 possessions, an offensive rating of 58.2. UCLA scored 78 points from 77 possessions, an offensive rating of 101.1.

Sienna Betts led UCLA with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block. Elina Aarnisalo added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Ahrray Young paced UC Irvine with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Addy Brown contributed six points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Bruins. KK Bransford had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists. Delaney White scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Anteaters. Timea Gardiner added 12 points, five rebounds and one block. Donovyn Hunter finished with six points, five rebounds and five assists. Somto Okafor had six points, five rebounds and one assist. Bonnie Deas chipped in five points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UCLA 74, UC Irvine 70, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected UCLA with a 99.9 percent probability to win.