Canada lifts UCLA past Boise State 83-56 (Mar 18, 2017)

LOS ANGELES (AP) UCLA women's coach Cori Close had a simple message of love prior to their opening-round game against Boise State.

''You have to love making a play for a teammate,'' she said.

The fourth-seeded Bruins (24-8) took it to heart Saturday, passing out 24 assists, jumping out to an early lead and rolling to an 83-56 victory over the Broncos.

Jordin Canada had 16 assists to go along with her 15 points. Monique Billings led all scorers with 19 points, while teammates Kennedy Burke and Nicole Kornet each added 14 points for the Bruins.

The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Broncos (25-8).

Guard Brooke Pahukoa had 13 points for Boise State, but the Broncos' leading scorer hit only one of 11 3-point attempts. Riley Lupfer matched her with 13 points.

''The physicality of play was really an adjustment for us,'' said Broncos coach Gordy Presnell. ''And we obviously didn't adjust well in the first period.''

The Bruins scored the game's first 15 points and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

While UCLA was hitting its first five shots, the Broncos looked on the nervous side, missing their first nine. The Broncos got close enough to trail only 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, but UCLA opened the second period with a 15-3 run to regain command.

''They started hitting 3s, that opened Monique inside and then their point guard (Canada) got going,'' Presnell said.

The Bruins led 44-27 at the half, doing most of its damage early in the opening two periods. After falling behind 15-0 at the start, the Broncos got close enough to trail only 20-12 at the end of the first quarter. UCLA opened the second period with a 15-3 run to regain command.

UCLA shot 58.2 percent for the game, to Boise State's 30.0 percent. The Bruins hit 10-of-17 3-pointers, while the Broncos went only 7-of-29.

BIG PICTURE

Boise State: The Broncos are not the best shooting team (40.2 percent) but they struggled mightily against UCLA's defense. After missing their first nine shots, they were still shooting only 28.9 percent at the half and finished at 30.0 percent.

UCLA: The Bruins have two players averaging big points - Canada (18.0) and Billings (16.8) - but used a balanced scoring attack to take early command. Canada, who averages 5.3 assists per game, already had 10 assists at the half.

INSIDE GAME

Despite those adjustments to UCLA's physical play and size advantage, the Broncos held their own on the boards. They outrebounded the Broncos 39-37. Boise State's 6-3 sophomore center Marijke Vanderschaaf topped the Broncos with nine rebounds.

BOUNCE BACK

UCLA was disappointed to lose in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals to Oregon State by 10 points, but Close said she felt assured the Bruins would bounce back. Said Close: ''I was confident it would change them for the better. I know the heart of this team.''

IN CONTROL

In addition to a 24-7 advantage in assists, the Bruins dominated scoring around the basket. UCLA was credited with a 36-17 advantage on points scored in the paint.

UP NEXT:

The Bruins will play Texas A&M, which pulled off the biggest rally in NCAA Tournament history to beat Penn.