This will be just the third all-time meeting between the two programs, and Big Ten supremacy is on the line.
After a tough loss to unranked USC on Thursday evening, No. 8 Iowa women's basketball will attempt to get itself back off the mat and close out its West Coast roadtrip on a high note.
The mission won't be easy, however, as the obstacle is No. 2 UCLA on Sunday inside Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins (20-1, 10-1) have played like a true national championship contender to this point, and a win over the Hawkeyes (18-3, 9-1) would be a major stepping stone towards the Big Ten regular season crown.
UCLA leads the all-time series 2-1, including a narrow 67-65 win in Iowa City last season. Sunday's tip off is set for for 3 p.m. CST on FOX, with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Elis Woodward (analyst) calling the action.
The rundown
Though not quite at the same level as their men's counterpart once was under John Wooden, 15th-year head coach Cori Close has slowly turned the Bruins from a consistent NCAA tournament team into a perennial title contender. UCLA struggled to break through to the Final Four for most of Close's tenure, but it ended those problems with a Final Four appearance last year - the school's first-ever trip.
The Bruins lost to UConn by 34 in the national semifinal, but the 2025-26 squad looks capable of taking down the Huskies if they get the chance this year.
Numbers to watch
UCLA wouldn't be 20-1 without a loaded roster, but the engine that runs this Bruin team is undoubtedly senior Lauren Betts. The 6-foot-7 center has blossomed into one of the nation's best players since transferring to Westwood from Stanford, and she leads UCLA in points per game with 16.5.
Betts' scoring has certainly played a pivotal role in the Bruins' success, but she also impacts the game in other ways, especially on the boards. UCLA leads the Big Ten in rebounds per contest (43.3), and it wouldn't be at the top of that category without Betts' 8.3 boards a game.
The Hawkeyes are going to likely double-team Betts as much as they can, but the Bruins won't mind that because they have a trio of guards that can shoot lights-out from the perimeter. Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, and Kiki Rice are all lethal three-point shooters, especially Jaquez and Kneepkens (both are 6-foot tall and shoot over 46% from distance).
UCLA is the best three-point shooting team in the league (38.4%), which has contributed to the Big Ten's second-best scoring offense (behind No. 9 Michigan). Whatever shortcomings the Bruins have on offense are made up on the defensive end of the floor, as they've held their conference opponents to 58.8 points per game.
Prediction: UCLA 77, Iowa 64
Iowa is a good basketball team, but UCLA's experience is going to be too tough for the Hawkeyes to handle. Betts will make her mark on this one early, but three-point shooting is going to be the difference in this one. If this game were played in Iowa City, Iowa would have a good chance to win, but the Bruins will take care of business on their home floor and inch closer to the Big Ten title.
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