Dean leads No. 9 UCLA past Utah; Bruns finish 2nd in Pac-12

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Japreece Dean had 16 points and eight assists and Michaela Onyenwere added 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 9 UCLA to a 77-54 win over Utah on Sunday.

UCLA clinched the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. Oregon had already clinched the top seed by winning its third straight regular-season title.

UCLA (25-4, 14-4) and Stanford tied for second, but the Bruins won the tiebreaker over the Cardinal. The top four seeds clinch a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Kiana Moore and Julie Brosseau each scored 11 points off the bench for Utah (13-16, 6-12), which lost five of its last six games.

Dean, a senior, played her final regular-season home game at Pauley Pavilion. Her shot wasn’t falling — she was 1 for 11 from the field — but she was 14 for 14 from the free-throw line.

The Bruins started the game with a 19-4 run, and Onyenwere had eight points during that stretch. She made two free throws, a jumper on the baseline and two layups.

The rout was on from there. UCLA outrebounded Utah 55-37. UCLA had 29 offensive rebounds.

UCLA led 39-22 at halftime and extended its advantage to 66-38 on a 3-pointer by Kiara Jefferson.

The Bruins shot 30.8% from the field in the first half but thanks to 20 offensive rebounds were able to take 39 shots.

UCLA coach Cori Close went deep into her bench, using 10 players in the first quarter alone. Nine players scored by halftime.

The Bruins had five offensive rebounds on one possession in the second quarter, finally scoring on a pair of free throws after Dean was fouled in the second quarter.

Dean and Ally Rosenblum were honored before the game. The seniors played their final regular-season home game.

BIG PICTURE

Utah: The Utes will have to hope for an upset in the tournament, a tough task in the deepest conference in the country.

UCLA: The Bruins are playing well, winning four of their last five games heading into the postseason.

UP NEXT

Utah: Will play in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday.

UCLA: Will play in a Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal game on Friday.

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