Foul trouble can't stop Lauren Betts in No. 2 UCLA's 80-67 win over Illinois

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Illinois' Cearah Parchment and Lety Vasconcelos (35) battle for a rebound with UCLA's Lauren Betts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

Illinois' Destiny Jackson drives for position against UCLA's Angela Dugalić during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman) — Illinois' Cearah Parchment and Lety Vasconcelos (35) battle for a rebound with UCLA's Lauren Betts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)

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9:01 PM on Wednesday, January 28

By STEVE STEIN

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Lauren Betts overcame early foul trouble to score 23 points and pull down nine rebounds, leading No. 2 UCLA to an 80-67 win Wednesday night over Illinois.

Betts, the Bruins' 6-foot-7 AP All-American center, picked up her second and third fouls — the latter on a technical foul — with 1:29 left in the first quarter.

She 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. She had just 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 — each added 10.

Cearah Parchment had a career-high 26 points and seven rebounds for Illinois (15-6, 5-5) before fouling out with 36 seconds left. She was 10 of 13 from the field.

Destiny Jackson had 15 points and six assists, Maddie Webber scored 12 points and Berry Wallace had 11 for the Illini.

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 of 10 from distance. 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 it fell 76-65 to No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas.

In the 10 games before facing Illinois, the Bruins beat their opponents by an average of nearly 40 points and scored an average of more than 91 points a game.

Up next

UCLA: Hosts No. 8 Iowa on Sunday.

Illinois: At No. 25 Washington on Sunday.

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