Kiki Rice held the ball in the final moments before joining her teammates in a joyous mob just inside the three-point line, everyone hopping in celebration.
Cori Close walked around the Pauley Pavilion court and pointed toward the crowd with both fingers, repeatedly saying, “Thank you!”
For UCLA, this was especially sweet.
Once trailing Creighton by 10 points in the third quarter and seemingly out of answers Monday evening, the second-seeded Bruins teetered on the edge of an uncomfortably early exit from the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
Having more talent, a height advantage and homecourt didn’t mean anything against a team that got the shots it wanted and made a healthy percentage in building that big lead.