The Bruins (3-3) were led by junior forward Lindsey’s Pluimer’s game-high 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting. Four UCLA players finished in double figures with Amanda Livingston contributing a double-double, scoring12 points and adding 10 rebounds. Chinyere Ibekwe was just one rebound short of a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Noelle Quinn managed to score 12 points while dishing out a game-high 11 assists.

Sacramento State sophomore forward Atty Boyer doubled her previous career high to lead the Hornets (1-5) with 23 points on a 9-of-14 performance. The Sacramento native made her way to the free-throw line seven times and was close to reaching a first career double-double with a team-leading eight rebounds.

UCLA’s 50 points in the paint and 21 points off second chance opportunities helped the Bruins build on their eight-point lead at the start of the second half. UCLA opened the second period on a 22-9 run, gaining a 21-point edge, 63-42 at the 14:02 mark.

UCLA shot 57 percent from the floor and also outrebounded Sacramento State 53-30, while scoring 18 points off the Hornets’ 16 turnovers.

Freshman forward Erika Edwards added a career high 12 points for Sacramento State, knocking down a season-best four baskets from beyond the arc. Senior guards Kim Sheehy and Stephanie Cherry scored eight points apiece, and Sheehy dished out a career-high five assists.

The Hornets forced UCLA into 25 turnovers, scoring 20 points off those opportunities and shot 32.9 percent (24-of-73) from the floor.

The Hornets’ created a 6-0 run at the 13:29 mark of the second half after Edwards knocked down a three-pointer and then nabbed a steal on the other end of the floor that led to an Ashley Storms’ trey.

In the first half, Boyer scored Sacramento State’s first eight points and 15 of the Hornets’ 33 points.

Sacramento State’s man-to-man defense forced UCLA into four consecutive turnovers, which produced an 8-8 deadlock with 15:12 remaining. Two of Boyer’s baskets drew fouls from the Bruins, creating three-point plays for the 2005 El Camino High School graduate.

UCLA reached its first double-digit lead, 27-17, after Pluimer buried a three-pointer from the top of the arc, but Sheehy put a quick dent in the Bruins’ advantage knocking down two open looks from the outside.

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Boyer’s second three-point play of the game came with 1:27 remaining in the half and cut UCLA’s lead to 37-29. Sacramento State ended the final 90 seconds with a 12-foot jumper from Cherry and a hook shot from Boyer at the buzzer.

But despite two first-half three-pointers from Edwards and Sacramento State’s 11 points off the Bruins’ 16 first-half turnovers, UCLA’s success under the basket led to 16 second-chance points, guiding the Bruins to a 41-33 halftime lead.

The Hornets also shot just 30.8 percent (12-of-39) from the floor in the first half, compared to UCLA’s .545 (18-of-33) shooting percentage.

Sacramento State will end the tournament playing the loser of Denver and Texas Tech at 11 a.m. HT (1 p.m. PST) on Sunday.