The UCLA women's basketball team won decisively on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They took on Southern University, the automatic qualifiers from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and controlled the game from the opening tip despite a late first-half run from the Jaguars.
However, if the Bruins want to make it to their first Final Four in program history, they'll have to fight their way through a series of tougher opponents. They'll face the Richmond Spiders in the second round on Sunday, who just steamrolled the Georgia Tech on Friday afternoon.
The Spiders won earlier this year against Oklahoma State and Columbia as well and lost close games to Texas, Alabama, and Georgetown. Simply put, this team will be far from a pushover, and the game will likely come down to how much UCLA can contain Richmond's star player.
UCLA needs to stop Richmond's Maggie Doogan
Maggie Doogan is a 6-foot-2 junior forward from Broomall, Pennsylvania, who won the Atlantic-10 Conference Player of the Year Award this season. She had impressive averages of 16.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, as well as over one steal and block per contest.
She had an absurd 30-point, 15-rebound, 6-assist performance against Georgia Tech in the first round on Friday, proving that she can dominate against any level of competition. Her unique blend of size and shooting ability could be tough for the Bruins, as she can fill it up in a hurry and put pressure on opposing teams.
Doogan has a season-high of 37 points, and she has scored 30 or more in two other contests, with her team being 3-0 in those contests. If UCLA can keep her in check, they should coast to victory once again. If not, it may be a harrowing game for the Bruins that could come down to the wire.