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This is the only team a former five-star prospect like Angela Dugalić could become an afterthought. Often overshadowed by a trio of All-Pac-12 players, the Oregon transfer reasserted her presence in UCLA’s 67-57 win over Utah in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament Thursday.
Dugalić scored 12 of her career-high-tying 17 points during the second half to secure UCLA’s sixth consecutive win and push No. 3 seed UCLA into the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament. The victory, paired with No. 2 USC’s over Arizona, set up the final installment of this season’s Bruins-Trojans rivalry trilogy in Friday’s semifinal at 7:30 p.m. PST at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
While sophomore Kiki Rice, fifth-year guard Charisma Osborne and center Lauren Betts earned All-Pac-12 team acclaim this week, it’s X-factors like Dugalić that make the Bruins contenders not only for their first conference tournament title since 2006, but their first ever NCAA title.
“They’re the whole package,” Utah coach Lynne Roberts said. “They have the ability to win a national championship, for sure.”
Rice had 13 points with nine rebounds and Osborne had 16 points. The Windward School alumna shook off a third-quarter knee injury that sidelined her about two minutes of game time after she collided with Utah’s Inês Vieira midway through the third quarter.
Osborne had carried the Bruins through the first half with 12 points. She was UCLA’s only double-digit scorer with the Bruins clinging to a five-point lead at the break and left the game with the Bruins up by six against the explosive Utes, who lead the conference in three-point shooting at 36.8%.
Dugalić immediately quelled the threat of a comeback by shoveling a pass to Londynn Jones for a three that put the Bruins up by nine. When Utah (22-10) cut the lead to five on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, Dugalić answered with a midrange baseline jumper that pushed it back to seven. She hit a dagger three-pointer to put the Bruins up by 13 with 6:59 to go off a missed shot by Osborne and Lauren Betts’ offensive rebound.
The Serbian international was part of a heralded 2020 recruiting class that boasted five prospects with five-star rankings. She appeared in 24 games for the Ducks as a true freshman before transferring to UCLA. But her Bruin career has been riddled with injuries.
Now fully healthy, not only did the 6-foot-4 forward help the Serbian national team qualify for the Olympics this year, but her do-it-all game has contributed to UCLA’s overwhelming depth.
“You take away one thing, we got another thing,” Dugalić said. “Even when I’m not having a good game, I know what my role is. … I just want to stay on the floor and help others.”
Hoping to limit Betts, Utah threw double and triple teams at UCLA’s leading scorer and rebounder. She finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Utah had to “pick (its) poison,” Roberts said. Dugalić, Roberts reasoned, was an option entering the game shooting 29.7% from three-point range. Then she made three-of-four shots from distance.
It’s no fluke, UCLA coach Cori Close said. She recalled Dugalić asking coaches to meet more than an hour before shootarounds early this season so she could work on her shooting and regain her confidence after her injury.
“I think what you saw tonight is a manifestation of all the work in the dark,” Close said. “That was deliberate work over a long period of time when no one saw what she was doing. And I just think she’s barely scratching the surface.”
