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Gennifer Arranaga drives with the ball against Illinois during UCLA's win Sunday.

Coming off an 89-58 defeat at the hands of No. 2 Texas, UCLA women’s basketball coach Kathy Olivier was anxious to see how her young team would respond to its first tough loss.

Judging by the Bruins’ performance against Illinois on Sunday, this team is capable of bouncing back quickly after defeat.

UCLA (2-1) came out hungry and aggressive against an undermanned Illinois (1-3), burying the Fighting Illini with smothering defense and great shot selection en route to a 68-56 victory at Pauley Pavilion.

“We could not play (Illinois) fast enough,” said Olivier, who earned her 150th career victory. “The last couple of days in practice, my rope was half-an-inch long. I just didn’t have a lot of patience.

“This team has a lot of ability, but we weren’t really doing what we thought we could do.”

The Bruins jumped on the Fighting Illini early, establishing a double-digit lead in the first half that they would never relinquish. UCLA shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, while its defense limited Illinois to 30 percent shooting in the same time frame.

Sophomore Nikki Blue once again led the Bruin attack, finishing with a team-high 16 points and five assists, with most coming in transition. Blue pushed the ball up the floor every opportunity she had, appeasing Olivier’s desire to see her team become more quick-hitting in its offense.

“They were quick, but I think we were quicker,” said Blue, who also led the Bruins with four steals. “Our game is a running game, and the only way we’re going to win is when we play our game and not get sucked into (our opponents’ games).”

“Nikki is unbelievable at pushing the ball up, and everyone followed her lead,” Olivier said. “Nikki and Noelle (Quinn) like to get into that open-floor set and find the open players, and they did a very good job of that in the first half.”

While UCLA’s offense was clicking, Illinois’ offense was significantly hampered by the loss of junior forward Angelina Williams, who was benched for the game for disciplinary reasons. Williams’ absence allowed the Bruins to hone in on the Fighting Illini’s other two scoring threats, forcing Aminata Yanni and Tiffany Guthrie to go a combined 14 for 43 from the field.

Contrary to UCLA’s first two games, the bench played a pivotal role, providing an offensive spark when the Bruin attack stalled.

Sophomore Emma Tautolo couldn’t have chosen a better time to come up with one of her better efforts in a Bruin uniform.

“I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve ever played, but I really felt comfortable out there,” said Tautolo, who finished with 10 points in 15 minutes. “I was anxious to get in there and do something, especially after the loss to Texas.”

Senior guard Gennifer Arranaga also provided a lift off the bench, hitting two key three-pointers to put the game out of reach.

Without the services of senior Jamila Veasley, who sprained her left shoulder in the team’s loss to Texas, Olivier realized Sunday’s game would be a good opportunity for her squad to display its maturity and step up behind its fallen leader.

“When (Veasley) went out against Texas, the post players were out of sync, and the wheels came loose,” Olivier said. “(The post players) didn’t allow that to happen today, and that was a huge plus for us.”