Kiki Rice named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week after dominant performance against No. 8 Michigan

LOS ANGELES - UCLA senior guard Kiki Rice has been named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week alongside Indiana senior guard Shay Ciezki. 

Rice earned the honor after a dominant week of play that started with a 17 point, seven rebound and three steal game against Rutgers on Feb. 4 in the Bruins' dominant 86-46 win. 

Her other marquis performance, and the one that the Bruins needed the most, was her outstanding showing against No. 8 Michigan in a tight 69-66 victory on Feb. 8. Rice had a team-leading 20 points against the Wolverines along with four rebounds, two steals and two assists while shooting 6-12 from the field and 8-9 from the charity stripe.

Rice exploded in the second-half of that game, scoring 16 of her 20 points to help UCLA outlast the surging Wolverines in the Top 10 matchup. 

Joining her teammates

The Player of the Week Selection is the first of Rice's college career and she's now the third Bruin to receive the honor this season, joining senior center Lauren Betts and senior forward Gabriela Jaquez. 

John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) driving into the lane during an NCAA basketball game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Sunday November 24th, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Rice is one of two senior Bruins to have attended UCLA her entire career along with Jaquez and she, like several other Bruins, has shown some massive improvements and is having a career-high year. She's averaging 15.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game this season, all career-highs, along with 4.5 assists per game. 

The improvements of the Bruins

Rice has always shown a mastery of driving through the paint and commanding impressive layups, often throwing in a Euro-Step or some kind of Around-the-World layup attempt, but this season she's been shooting the ball from beyond the arc and from the charity stripe better than she ever has as well. 

John Panganiban-The Sporting Tribune

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) taking a quick jumper during an NCAA basketball game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Sunday November 24th, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

She's shooting exactly 40% from three point range this season and 89.5% in free throws, those marks with her 49.8% field goal percentage puts her right on the edge of the exclusive 40/50/90 club, company she shares with teammates Jaquez and graduate guard Gianna Kneepkens. 

How well UCLA has improved as a roster this season is what's made the Bruins one of the two best teams in the country yet again. Betts remains the attention grabbing talent, but players like Rice and the new level she's reached have made the Bruins nearly impossible to stand against.