UCLA storms past South Carolina to
claim its 1st NCAA women's basketball title
[April 06, 2026]
By DOUG FEINBERG
PHOENIX (AP) — It’s mission accomplished for UCLA.
Gabriela Jaquez, Lauren Betts and the rest of the UCLA seniors
secured the first NCAA women's basketball national championship in
school history — a goal that was set after losing in the first Final
Four last season.
Jaquez scored 21 points, Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South
Carolina 79-51 Sunday in the title game.
“I knew we were going to do it. Coming to UCLA we all set out for a
goal, and I imagined this moment,” Jaquez said. "I imagined it so
many times, and I am just so, so proud. ... Crying a lot, the
confetti, all of the fans being here to support us, my family being
here, it just means everything. Celebrating with this group, like
... I’m so happy.”
The near-record lopsided victory completed the Bruins’ journey
through this year’s March Madness. The Bruins ran through their
opponents this season with their only loss coming in November, to
Texas in a Thanksgiving tournament.
“It’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine,” UCLA coach
Cori Close said. “It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
UCLA (37-1) was led by Betts and her fellow seniors and graduate
students, like Jaquez — who played all four years with the Bruins.
She also had 10 rebounds and five assists in front of her brother
Jaime, who plays for the Miami Heat and flew in to attend the game
to watch his alma mater win.
The group that coach Close put together through a combination of
high school commitments and transfer portal players capped off their
stellar careers with a championship, scoring all the points in the
title game.
“Connectivity. Attention to detail. You know I looked them in the
eyes before in the locker room, before the game, and I said, ‘I’m so
proud to be able to say this,” Close said. "Because all year we’ve
been saying the talent is our floor, but our character will
determine our ceiling.’”
The title is UCLA’s first since winning the 1978 AIAW championship,
which was the postseason tournament for women’s basketball before
the NCAA took over in 1982.
The championship game loss was the second straight for the
Gamecocks, who won the title in 2024. Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks
(36-4) will be favored to return to the game’s biggest stage with a
talented group of expected returnees, led by Joyce Edwards and Agot
Makeer.
Like their 51-44 semifinal win over Texas, the Bruins were locked in
defensively, anchored by Betts. She finished with 11 rebounds and
exited the game with 3:45 left, giving Close a huge hug. The
6-foot-7 senior earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the Final
Four.
“UCLA is a quality team with very experienced players who got a
taste of being in the Final Four last year, and you make
adjustments,” South Carolina's Staley said. "From last year to this
year -- they played determined last year, but they played more
determined this year because they were so close.”
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UCLA players celebrate after defeating South Carolina in the women's
National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament
game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Offensively, the Bruins had a much easier time than
in the semifinal game that saw the team score only 20 points in the
first half. The Bruins surpassed that total in the opening 10
minutes against South Carolina. Kiki’s Rice 3-pointer just before
the first-quarter buzzer made it 21-10 as the Bruins got off to a
strong start and South Carolina struggled with 17% shooting, it’s
poorest quarter of the season.
The Bruins extended the lead to 15 points in the second quarter by
clogging up the paint on defense and working the ball inside on
offense for a 36-23 lead at the half.
UCLA put the game away in the third quarter, opening the period with
a 12-3 run. Jaquez had five points during the spurt. South Carolina
never threatened again as the Bruins outscored them 25-9 in the
period.
“We just didn’t have it today. We tried, but we just didn’t have it
today,” Staley said. "They were the better team.”
South Carolina avoided the most lopsided loss in championship
history of 33 points, set in 2013 when UConn defeated Louisville.
The Gamecocks also surpassed the title game record low of 44 points
by Louisiana Tech in 1987 against Tennessee.
The Gamecocks were trying to cement their name as the premiere
program in the sport with a fourth championship and third in the
past five seasons. It just wasn’t meant to be Sunday as they had
their worst shooting game of the season against a talented UCLA
team.
“This is not the ending we wanted, but we got here. No one thought
we would, and we did it,” said Tessa Johnson, who led South Carolina
with 14 points.
Makeer added 11 for the Gamecocks.
“The score speaks for itself.” said Gamecocks senior Raven Johnson,
who played in five Final Fours in her career.
Close has been at UCLA for 15 seasons, but her connections go deeper
with the school as she was mentored by the legendary Bruins men’s
coach John Wooden, who won 10 national championships at the school.
Their bond began when she was 22 years old and he was 83. She shares
the same first name with one of his great-granddaughters. Close
visited Wooden bi-weekly, adopting his “Pyramid of Success” and
focus on character and its paid off with her team.
“Coach Wooden always said, ‘You got to do it the way you’re wired to
do it, not the way anyone else did.’ And I just tried imperfectly to
stay true to that," Close said.
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