PHOENIX — UCLA earned its first women’s NCAA Tournament title on Sunday with a dominant 79-51 victory over South Carolina. The 28-point margin was the third-largest ever in a championship game. Every UCLA player who scored on Sunday was playing in their final college basketball game.
“It’s not about me. It’s about watching these incredible young women be dream chasers, to watch them grow in ways that they will remember and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I said I wanted to find uncommon, courageous women that were willing to make uncommon choices that maybe possibly could yield an uncommon result, and today it did.”
Six seniors combined for UCLA’s 79 points. Gabriela Jaquez led the way for the Bruins with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Gianna Keepkens added 15 points. Lauren Betts, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, made her presence felt with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kiki Rice and Charlisse Walker-Leger had 10 points apiece. Angela Dugalić gave the Bruins nine points off the bench.
The Bruins were the better team for all 40 minutes. And the only time that came into question was late in the first quarter when Betts headed to the bench and couldn’t stop coughing. With UCLA up by six, the Bruins star player had to be tended to by trainers on the bench. She said it felt like something was stuck in her throat.
With the other veterans on the floor, UCLA didn’t just tread water without Betts, the team grew its lead. The team went on a 10-4 run before she checked back in when the clock read 8:41 in the second quarter. It felt as if South Carolina’s best chance to gain momentum was gone.
“At the moment, I did not catch it,” Jaquez said. “I kind of realized, ‘Oh Lauren is not in.’ I think just for us, we knew she was going to be OK, and we let the people who are professionals help her out. For us that are on the court just really maintaining focus on the game. I know that’s what Lauren would have wanted.”
South Carolina was a 3.5-point favorite entering the game. And, while many people expected things to be much closer, the Bruins were confident from the beginning.
“It was a sense of calm,” senior Kiki Rice. “I think I expected this, we all expected this. It’s just exciting.
“…I felt like yesterday I knew that we were going to win just because we were so focused. When you have a certain energy in practice, you wake up the next morning, you’re like, We have done everything you can possibly do to be ready for a game. It’s just like the confidence that you have.”
UCLA never trailed in the game. And despite this being the Gamecocks’ third consecutive championship game appearance, the Bruins were more prepared for the moment. Their defense against Texas is what earned them a ticket to Sunday’s game, and that defense continued to be a key factor for the Bruins on Sunday. The third quarter was particularly impressive as UCLA outscored South Carolina 25-9.
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The Gamecocks were averaging 86.3 points per game this season, but they were not able to go on any kind of real run on Sunday and finished the day shooting a disastrous 18 of 62 (29%) from the floor. South Carolina star sophomore Joyce Edwards registered eight points and 11 rebounds but it was an uncharacteristically unproductive night for her. South Carolina veteran Raven Johnson scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Last year was UCLA’s first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance, and it ended with a blowout loss to UConn. Betts watched that 2025 semifinals loss about 10 times, but the hurt of that loss turned into a perfect redemption story.
It took until late in the third quarter for Betts to fully realize she was about to achieve her goal and become a national champion. She said the moment hit her when she watched her sister Sienna, a freshman, sit next to her on the bench. It’s not often two sisters get to play college basketball on the same team, let alone win a national championship. For Lauren, the whole experience felt “like a freaking dream.”
“What an amazing way to finish off the season with a national championship, knowing that we did everything to get there basketball-wise, and we also just enjoyed each other,” Betts said while trying not to get emotional. “We’re such a close group of girls, I’m going to miss them so much. I’m not even going to get into that.”
With 30 straight wins to close out the season, UCLA’s seniors went out on top.
“This is really so special,” Rice said. “There is no better way we could hope to end our career. We played the last possible minutes of basketball that you could play in the season. We are the only team that’s ending their season with a win.
“Just to be grateful for all the moments we shared together over these four years. I just remember us coming in as freshmen, being in Cori’s office, having the conversations of this is where we want to get to, we want to win national championships, play in Final Fours. To know we gave it our all, this is where it ended up. It’s really rewarding because this is a special group of people. Just so grateful for all the moments.”
