LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pauley Pavilion is hallowed ground in college basketball lore, and the UCLA women have treated it that way.
The Bruins have lost only two games on this storied hardwood in the past two seasons, routing opponent after opponent with modern flair tempered by respect for the tradition embodied by the house that John Wooden built.
The current, top-seeded Bruins (31-2) are almost certainly the best women's team in school history, and they'll bid farewell to Pauley on Sunday night when they host eighth-seeded Richmond (28-6) in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
UCLA had a loud crowd for its opening-round victory over Southern, and coach Cori Close wants to see something even bigger for the Bruins' home finale against the talented Spiders near the end of a history-packed season for women's basketball in Los Angeles.
“Let’s sell this thing out,” Close said. “You’ve got (for) the first time in school history, a No. 1 seed, let alone an overall No. 1 seed. You’ve got a really good Richmond team that’s going to force us to go to another level if we want to earn another 1-0. Let’s sell out the Galen Center for (fellow No. 1 seed) USC and Pauley Pavilion for UCLA. We're enjoying such a special time of a new level of women’s basketball throughout our city.”
That crowd should get an entertaining evening in Westwood, where the Bruins will attempt to book their third consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen and their seventh in the last nine tournaments under Close.
All-American center Lauren Betts’ team is talented, incredibly deep and usually dominant. But the Bruins aren’t overlooking Richmond and its Atlantic 10 player of the year, Maggie Doogan, who dropped 30 points and 15 rebounds in the Spiders' opening-round victory over Georgia Tech.
“To see the abundance of fans come in to support us is amazing,” UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez said Saturday. “I’m super thankful for everyone that comes out to watch. I was telling the team, last year when we played Creighton in the second round (of the NCAA Tournament), it was probably the loudest I’ve ever heard Pauley to that time. And I felt the energy with the fans (Friday). Everyone is so excited with March Madness.”
Richmond had its own raucous cheering section for the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history on Friday night. With that celebration still fresh in mind, the Spiders are embracing the chance to take a shot at a seemingly unbeatable opponent on its home floor.
“When you win 30 games and the only team that’s beaten you all season is a team that has JuJu Watkins on it, you’re pretty good,” Richmond coach Aaron Roussell said of the Bruins. “So a lot of things have been tried. Probably a lot of things haven’t worked. You try to find some teams that maybe are somewhat similar to how you’re doing, but you first go through their list of games, and there’s not a whole lot of close games, either. I don’t know what has worked.”
UCLA is daunting, but Richmond has showed its mettle against national powers already this season. During a seven-day stretch right before Christmas, the Spiders hosted Texas and faced Tennessee and Alabama in a tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Spiders lost all three games, but stayed competitive with both Texas and Alabama while building the confidence for their Atlantic 10 title run. Richmond reeled off 17 consecutive victories before a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer to St. Joseph's in the conference tournament.
“There’s a certain — ‘comfort’ maybe not being the right word — but I think there’s an understanding that we’ve played against teams of this caliber before,” Roussell said. “We’ve been in this situation where this has all been new, and I didn’t want that. When we did the schedule this year, it was, ‘Hey, if we’re going to get to the tournament, hopefully win a game, it’s going to be a team like this.’”
Betts has been a prominent athlete in Hollywood for two years now, but she was still starstruck to meet Adam Sandler on Friday. She's also hoping the actor who made “Happy Gilmore” and the basketball-themed “Hustle” might return the love.
Betts and her family — including her 6-foot-4 sister, Sienna, who will play for UCLA next year — were brunching at The Terrace in Beverly Hills when they spotted Sandler at the restaurant. Everybody got together for a photo, and the family invited Sandler to the Bruins' game Sunday.
“My family, we just love Adam Sandler,” Betts said with a grin. “He’s legit our favorite actor of all time. All his movies are our comfort movies. ... We’re sitting there and I see him in the corner of my eye. Sienna is screaming. My dad, before we even get a chance to stand up, he’s already over there taking a picture with him.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) draws a foul against Southern guard Aleighyah Fontenot (2) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal officer shot a person in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while trying to make an arrest Wednesday, federal officials said.
Smoke filled the street near the site of the shooting as federal officers and protesters squared off. A group of officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas and grenades into a small crowd while protesters threw snowballs and chanted, “Our streets.”
Such scenes have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7. Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who bare demanding that officers pack up and leave.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on the social media platform X that federal law enforcement officers stopped a person from Venezuela who was in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.
After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.
The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.
The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where Good was killed.
Earlier Wednesday, a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a televised speech Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Federal immigration officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A woman confronts a federal immigration officer at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People react after a firework was set off near the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Federal immigration officers shoot pepper balls as tear gas is deployed at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
