LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts had season highs of 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, and No. 4 UCLA routed Oregon 80-59 in the teams' Big Ten opener Sunday, knocking the Ducks from the unbeaten ranks.
Gianna Kneepkens added 17 points for the Bruins (9-1, 1-0), who beat the Ducks for the sixth straight time while topping 80 points for the sixth time this season.
Ehis Etute had 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Katie Fiso added 14 points for the Ducks (10-1, 0-1). They off were to the program's best start since 2015-16 when they opened 11-0 and were just one of four 10-0 teams nationally going into the weekend.
But UCLA had the Ducks on their heels from the opening tip. The Bruins opened the game with six straight points and had 19 rebounds while leading 19-8 and limiting the Ducks to 3 of 18 shooting.
The Bruins poured it on with a 10-2 run to open the second quarter. Betts had four points and Lena Bilic hit two 3-pointers. Bilic's third 3-pointer pushed UCLA's lead to 26 just before halftime, when the Bruins led 49-26.
Early in the third, the Bruins took a 27-point lead — their largest of the game — on a pair of free throws by Kiki Rice and closed the period on a 6-0 spurt for a 65-40 lead.
Etute and Fiso did almost all of the Ducks' scoring in the fourth, when Betts scored five in a row before leaving in the closing minutes.
UCLA dominated the boards 52-29, controlled the paint 40-28, and dished out 22 assists.
Oregon: Hosts Montana State on Sunday.
UCLA: Hosts Cal Poly on Dec. 16.
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UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, protects the ball from Oregon forward Ehis Etute (35) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s president on Saturday warned neighboring Afghanistan’s Taliban government that it had “ crossed a red line ” by launching drone attacks on civilian areas in Pakistan and said the administration in Kabul has brought “grave consequences upon itself.”
The statement by Asif Ali Zardari was the latest in what has become the deadliest fighting yet between the two neighbors. The cross-border clashes, which erupted late last month, have shown no signs of abating despite efforts by China and Turkey to broker a ceasefire.
Pakistan said its forces intercepted the drones launched on Friday but that falling debris injured two children in the city of Quetta and two people elsewhere in the country.
On Friday, the Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes in Kabul, the country's capital, and other areas in eastern Afghanistan, saying at least six civilians were killed and 15 other were injured.
Hours later, Kabul claimed its air force responded by targeting military installations near Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, and in northwestern Pakistan.
Pakistan denied targeting civilians, saying its operations are focused on Pakistani Taliban militants and their support networks. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an "open war” — adding to concerns among the international community about regional stability as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has engulfed the Middle East and beyond.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near the airport in the southern city of Kandahar, which he said supplies civilian and U.N. flights.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of harboring Pakistani militant groups — mainly the Pakistani Taliban — that cross the porous volatile border between the two countries to stage attacks against Pakistani forces and also of allying with its archrival, India. Kabul denies harboring militant groups.
On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting Pakistani police killed seven officers in the northwestern district of Lakki Mawat.
Zardari slammed the government in Kabul.
“While the Afghan terrorist regime seeks negotiations with our friendly countries, it crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians," he said.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said on X that, its defense forces Saturday conducted operations along the border in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, capturing a post and killing 14 Pakistani soldiers.
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Information Ministry in a statement rejected the claim as baseless.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said the “Afghan Taliban are spending more time weaving fantasies" than they are getting rid of "terrorist organizations enjoying Afghan Taliban regime hospitality.”
He said in a post on X that propaganda would not force Pakistan to end its counterterrorism operations. “Only the end of terrorism from Afghan soil to Pakistan will,” he said
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged for a peaceful resolution of the Afghanistan-Pakistan dispute, warning the use of force worsens tensions and threatens regional stability. His remarks were reported Saturday by China’s official Xinhua News Agency, which said Wang had spoken with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Wang said China’s special envoy is shuttling between the two countries in an effort to promote restraint and encourage a ceasefire. Muttaqi said Afghanistan seeks regional peace and does not want a military conflict, adding that dialogue remains the only solution and urging China to play a greater role.
A Qatari-mediated ceasefire in October briefly reduced tensions, but subsequent talks in Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Qahar reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
People attend the funeral prayers of police officers, killed in the roadside bomb explosion, outskirts of Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/G.A. Marwat)
Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
