No. 3 UCLA leaned on transfer guard Gianna Kneepkens to spark its 73-59 win over No. 6 Oklahoma on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center, as head coach Cori Close praised the former Utah player for her consistency and impact early in the season.
Kneepkens led the Bruins (3-0) with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, her second straight 20-point performance.
“I told them in the locker room, it's going to be a different person every night,” Close said, as reported by Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “Today, it was Gianna.”
Kneepkens joined a deep rotation that includes Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez, helping UCLA out-rebound Oklahoma 59-43 in a game that opened up after a decisive third quarter. Angela Dugalic added 16 points and 15 rebounds off the bench, while Betts contributed nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots despite committing seven turnovers. The Bruins limited Oklahoma to 34% shooting.
Kneepkens, who transferred from Utah after four seasons, said move was about growth.
“There have definitely been hard days and hard moments,” she said, “but I have great people around me that have helped me be better. I've already felt growth.”
Close said Kneepkens’ arrival filled a key gap left by offseason departures.
“This was all about alignment,” she said. “What she wanted to learn and grow in, we could provide. And what we needed her to provide us with was a complementary piece to the other people we had.”
Oklahoma’s Payton Verhulst led the Sooners (1-1) with 16 points, while Raegan Beers returned from a brief knee scare to finish with seven points and 14 rebounds.
The Bruins, who have now beaten Oklahoma in three straight meetings, will face North Carolina on Thursday in the WBCA Challenge in Las Vegas. The Sooners return home to host Kansas City on Wednesday.
Reporting by Janie McCauley of the Associated Press contributed to this article.
