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UCLA Basketball: The Bruin Women take down #3 Baylor

By Mike Regalado

LOUISVILLE, KY - MARCH 21: A detailed view of a basketball ahead of the game between the UCLA Bruins and UAB Blazers during the third round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KFC YUM! Center on March 21, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - MARCH 21: A detailed view of a basketball ahead of the game between the UCLA Bruins and UAB Blazers during the third round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KFC YUM! Center on March 21, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Women’s UCLA basketball team got a huge victory over #3 Baylor behind their upperclass leaders, Jordan Canada, Monique Billings and Kennedy Burke.

If scoring a school-record 129 points in a single game to open up the season wasn’t enough for you to get excited about the UCLA basketball women’s team, then you need to look again. The Bruins took that win and kicked it up a notch as they defeated the #3 Baylor Bears on Saturday, 82-68, to get one of the biggest wins in head coach Cori Close’s time at UCLA.

RELATED: The UCLA Women’s Basketball 2017-18 season preview

This season, everything is coming together for the Bruins. We have written over and over at Go Joe Bruin that this UCLA team has the perfect mixture of veteran leadership, a solid core of nine returners and a strong freshman class.

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On Saturday, we saw exactly what that led to as the Bruins picked apart the Bears with a 14-point victory at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA returned the favor after last year’s matchup where the Bruins lost 84-70 at Baylor.

The upperclass leaders of this group were the ones that took charge in this game as guards Jordin Canada, Kennedy Burke and forward Monique Billings had huge games against the Bears. Canada once again logged a double-double with 20 points and 13 assists. It is her first since the season opener when she recorded a triple-double (26 points, 11 steals, 10 assists).

Billings came out with a team-high 21 points and almost got herself a double-double with 9 rebounds. Burke rounded out the leaderships scoring with 19 points.

On defense, the Bruins held the Bears to 40.3% shooting and only allowed Baylor two made three-pointers.

Next: Jordin Canada named to the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list

Needless to say, this is a big win, and as stated above, quite possibly the biggest in Close’s tenure. The way things are going, UCLA is en route to many more victories, but they are going to be challenged. Their next game is against Geno Auriemma‘s dominant UConn Huskies on Tuesday in Westwood, the team that gave the Bruins their exit from the 2017 NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16.