UCLA women’s basketball survives in overtime to win Battle 4 Atlantis

Freshman Kiki Rice led UCLA to a 66-58 overtime win over Marquette on Monday in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Rice had a career-high 18 points and seven rebounds, with grad transfer Gina Conti notching 16 points. Leading scorer Charisma Osborne had nine points — her first single-digit scoring game of the season — but added a season-high six assists as the Bruins (6-0) slogged through their third game in as many days.

After starting the tournament with a 72-65 win against South Dakota State on Saturday to avenge a season-ending loss in the WNIT last year, UCLA took down then-No. 11 Tennessee in the semifinal on Sunday behind a historic three-point effort. The Bruins poured in 16 three-pointers on 30 attempts, trying a single-game record in makes.

But their hot shooting touch cooled during the championship game. The Bruins made just three of 18 shots from three-point range. Rice carried the offense on six-of-18 shooting, with only one shot coming from behind the arc, and a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line to hand Marquette (5-1) its first loss of the year.

Senior Camryn Brown anchored the defense with five steals, including four in the fourth quarter and overtime, and six rebounds. UCLA shot a season-low 34.8% from field, but forced 24 turnovers and outrebounded Marquette 45-38.

The Bruins jumped into the Associated Press top 25 during the game for the first time since Nov. 28.