Charisma Osborne surges late to pull No. 5 UCLA past Arizona State

Charisma Osborne scored 27 points and fifth-ranked UCLA survived a second-half comeback try and beat Arizona State 60-57 on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Osborne scored 20 or more points for the fifth straight game. The sophomore guard is second in the Pac-12 with six 20-point games.

UCLA (10-2, 8-2 Pac-12) led by 18 points in the second quarter and 33-21 at halftime before Arizona State roared back.

The Sun Devils (8-5, 4-5) scored 13 straight points in a 17-2 run in the third quarter. Taya Hanson’s jumper with 1:59 remaining in the period put Arizona State up 40-38 before a layup by UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere tied it at 40-all going into the final 10 minutes.

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Osborne scored 13 points in the fourth, including a three-pointer with 7:39 remaining to give UCLA a 46-44 advantage. The Bruins were up by six a couple times in the fourth quarter, but were never able to shake the Sun Devils.

“I talked to Coach Cori (Close) after the Stanford game and told her how upset I was offensively and defensively,” Osborne said. “She was able to get me back thinking better mentally and to be more aggressive.”

Emily Bessoir hit a free throw that gave UCLA a 60-57 lead with 15 seconds remaining. Arizona State had a chance to send it into overtime, but Hanson missed a three-pointer.

Bessoir added 12 points for the Bruins, who won their fifth straight game despite shooting 32.1% from the field and 19 of 28 from the line.

Close, who has said that Osborne would be one of the best guards in the nation since she arrived on campus, said that Osborne’s leadership and mental toughness has emerged over the past month.

“We showed her those games where she was more tentative. She then did the work and made a few tweaks,” Close said.

Hanson was Arizona State’s leading scorer with 12 points.

Early run

Arizona State made its first two shots from the field and scored the first four points before going cold, allowing UCLA to take control. The Sun Devils committed 13 turnovers over their next 17 possessions and didn’t make a field goal for over 10 minutes. UCLA had seven steals over the first 14 minutes.

The Bruins led 26-8 in the second quarter before Gabriela Bosquez ended Arizona State’s shooting drought with a three-pointer.

Big picture

Arizona State: The Sun Devils have lost their last 11 games against the Bruins.

UCLA: Preseason All-American forward Michaela Onyenwere scored a season-low seven points and didn’t score in double figures for the first time in 17 games.

Up next

UCLA: Travel to Washington State next Friday. The Bruins game against No. 10 Arizona, which was scheduled for Sunday, was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Wildcats.