For five years, Charisma Osborne has delivered for UCLA. Of course, on her senior night, she did it again.
The fifth-year guard knocked down a critical three-pointer with 1:28 left against No. 13 Colorado to spur the No. 8 Bruins to a gritty 53-45 win at Pauley Pavilion on Monday. The Moreno Valley native, one of five senior players honored before the game, finished with 14 points and two rebounds as the Bruins fought through a scoring drought in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Kiki Rice led the Bruins with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists. With UCLA needing to rely on its defense to secure a second top-20 win of the long weekend, Rice also had three blocks and two steals. Osborne provided the offensive spark at the right moment, with her three-pointer ending a scoreless streak that lasted 6 minutes, 12 seconds.
UCLA (22-5, 11-5 Pac-12) moved into a three-way tie for second in the conference standings, matching USC and Oregon State. Each team has two more regular-season games to play before the conference tournament in Las Vegas.
UCLA’s 10-point halftime lead evaporated in less than six minutes in the third quarter as the Bruins turned the ball over seven times and had 24 for the game. Colorado’s Tameiya Sadler intercepted a pass from Camryn Brown and had a wide-open layup in transition that put the Buffaloes (20-7, 10-6) ahead 33-32 with 4:34 left in the third quarter.
Then the Bruins’ sophomores took over. Londynn Jones scored five unanswered points and Rice extended UCLA’s run with two free throws.
UCLA honored Osborne, Brown, Izzy Anstey, Emily Bessoir and Angela Dugalić before the game, but the seniors aren’t done at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are on track to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
