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Tennessee forward Janiah Barker (0) grabs the ball defended by UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Tennessee forward Janiah Barker (0) grabs the ball defended by UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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LOS ANGELES — Gabriela Jaquez didn’t appear on the Wooden Award watchlist as the season got underway in Westwood.
A plethora of her teammates made the cut – senior center Lauren Betts, senior guard Kiki Rice, graduate guard Gianna Kneepkens and freshman forward Sienna Betts – but Jaquez remained on the outskirts of inclusion. Coach Cori Close knows she has handfuls of stars on the Bruins at the ready. But nine games into the 2025-2026 season, Jaquez may be the star that college basketball will learn to point to at Pauley Pavilion.
“She’s someone who defies ceilings,” Close said.
Leaving the 6-foot wing alone in the corner has become a threat in and of itself. Jaquez missed one three-pointer in the first half against No. 14 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon, sinking 4 of 5 attempts from beyond the arc.
“We didn’t not guard her on purpose,” said Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell of Gabriela Jaquez.
Active defensively, she helped spark a 13-2 run to end the second quarter — holding the Lady Volunteers to a 1-for-11 shooting skid — to lead by 10 at halftime, the Pauley Pavilion crowd rising to its feet in ovation.
When Close uttered Jaquez’s name during a halftime interview, the Pauley faithful roared in response. With WNBA scouts courtside – a close-up view of the ranked action – Jaquez emerged comfortably as one of the best players in the nation in a 99-77 victory, No. 3 UCLA (8-1) continuing to brush aside a defeat to No. 4 Texas last week after taking down Duke and Tennessee (5-2) in consecutive fashion.
The Camarillo native finished the contest with a season-high 29 points (on 10-of-14 shooting and 5 of 6 from three), one off her career-high.
“I think something just kind of clicked with how I wanted it to feel,” Jaquez said of her three-point stroke.
Jaquez started her scoring barrage with a strip steal of former Bruin Janiah Barker, pulling up for a three as a Volunteers’ defender slid to the floor. Even on a rare poor look, watching Barker close down on her near the end of the first quarter, the Lady Volunteers’ leading scorer crashed into Jaquez, sending her to the ground.
Jaquez sank all three free throws to extend UCLA’s lead to 24-15.
Barker, however, had her fun in her return to Pauley Pavilion. The senior forward who spent the 2024-2025 season as a role player on UCLA’s Final Four run has been Tennessee’s starting gem. Entering and exiting the game – a calling card of Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell’s hockey-style line changes – Barker continued to insert herself into action to lead the Lady Volunteers in scoring.
Tennessee’s 6-foot-4 forward survived a late close-out from Jaquez – who matched up against her former teammate all game – at the end of the first quarter, draining a buzzer-beater three-pointer as she posed on the floor.
Outside of Barker’s team-leading 25 points, however, the Lady Volunteers couldn’t keep pace after squandering their short-lived second-quarter lead.
“I don’t care how much I scored,” Barker said. “I’m upset that we lost. … It was definitely an emotional, emotional game. It was super fun coming back here.”
As Tennessee faltered in the second half, Jaquez once again took over the playmaking rhythm.
Graduate student guard Charlisse Leger-Walker found Jaquez on an outlet pass, which dribbled across the Nell and John Wooden Court, to scoop and score and make it 57-45.
Jaquez forced a backcourt violation, which led to her shooting free throws on the other end.
And when Jaquez combined for back-to-back three pointers with Kneepkens for a proverbial dagger, leading 71-53 with 1:46 left in the third quarter, Pauley Pavilion couldn’t help but rouse in cheers again as Tennessee called a timeout.
“The reality is that family has invested so much in this UCLA community, and so to see them appreciate her work and her effort and her mentality, for me, as a coach, I love every second,” Close said about watching the home crowd reward Jaquez with a standing ovation as she came off the floor Sunday.
Bruin fans had reason to cheer; they have Jaquez on their team, writing her name further into the Jaquez legacy at Pauley Pavilion.
Notes:
Betts (left arm) returned to action after missing Thursday’s victory over Duke. Betts played 29 minutes in a muted seven-point performance after tallying two early fouls.
Rice recorded a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Leger-Walker tallied a team-high 11 assists of 25 overall.
