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UCLA was ready to rise to occasion and win the program’s first NCAA national championship | Latest Sports News
UCLA was ready to rise to occasion and win the program’s first NCAA national championship
Based on recent updates, UCLA was ready to rise to occasion and win the program’s first NCAA national championship.
Congratulations to the UCLA Bruins, the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball national champions.
UCLA ran away from South Carolina on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, sealing a near-perfect 37-1 that featured a perfect run to the Big Ten regular-season championship and a first-ever Big Ten Tournament title with a 79-51 victory.
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The title is the program’s first in the NCAA era, as the Bruins won the AIAW national championship in 1978.
UCLA’s celebrated sextet of seniors, appropriately, were all over the Bruin win.
After an early issue with her windpipe, Lauren Betts’ presence proved pivotal. Kiki Rice exhibited ultimate control. Gabriela Jaquez epitomized her “All Gas Gabs” moniker. Gianna Kneepkens swished a several sweet one-legged fadeaways. Charlisse Leger-Walker was a weapon from behind the arc. Angela Dugalić provided off-the-bench impact.
Together, they authored a perfect ending to their storybook season.
UCLA left no doubt with their dominance of South Carolina
It’s worth wondering if Betts’ early absence ended up being a blessing for the Bruins, and in multiple ways.
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Surely, South Carolina oriented their much of their offensive and defensive strategy around Betts. Did her absence disrupt the Gamecocks, who already were off to a shaky start? That head coach Dawn Staley went deeper than expected into her bench rather quickly suggests South Carolina was thrown off. In her interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe between the first and second quarters, Staley admitted that she was searching, looking for the right combination to kickstart her squad.
Conversely, UCLA didn’t miss a beat without Betts, maintaining high activity on defense and generating efficient offense. Their success without their star, evident in their 11-point first-quarter lead, likely infused more belief into an already-confident Bruins team.
When Betts returned, she only boosted UCLA, adding her game-altering presence on top of the Bruins’ established success.
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In the second quarter, South Carolina appeared to find themselves, dialing up their defensive pressure and forcing turnovers on four-straight UCLA possessions, including two 10-second violations, slicing a UCLA lead that had swelled to 15 points back to 11 points, seemingly poised to cut the advantage to single digits before halftime.
Instead, the Bruins stabilized with two-straight buckets, giving them a 13-point lead, 36-23, at the break.
Considering South Carolina shot just 26 percent from the field in the first half, their worst shooting half since 2022, there was reason to believe that, if just enough Gamecock shots began to fall, combined with an elevated level on defense, South Carolina could make this a game in the third quarter.
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UCLA had other ideas.
Just about four minutes into the third, the Bruins had buoyed their lead to 20 points. A four-point flurry from the Gamecocks allowed for a semblance of a comeback hope, but UCLA again responded, and this time in even louder fashion. The Bruin lead ticked past 30 points before the end of the period.
The final quarter became an exhibition of UCLA’s excellence, an exclamation point on the evisceration by the “underdog.”
South Carolina struggled to find the bottom of the net—and that might be an understatement.
The Gamecocks shot 29 percent from the field and eight percent from 3 for the game. Only Tessa Johnson and Agot Makeer scratched double figures, with Johnson scoring 14 points and Makeer adding 11 points. It was a rough afternoon for Joyce Edwards, who was bothered by the Bruins’ interior length as she finished 3-for-10 from the field with eight points and 11 rebounds. The senior backcourt of Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson closed out their careers with quiet games, combining for just seven points.
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UCLA’s six seniors, in contrast, were responsible for all of the Bruins’ 79 points.
Jaquez, who everywhere all at once, finished as UCLA’s leading scorer, with her 21 points complemented by 10 boards and five assists. Kneepkens netted 15 points. Betts posted a 14-point and 11-rebound double-double. Leger-Walker and Rice both scored 10 points, with Rice adding six boards and five assists. Dugalić contributed nine points.
Betts, who saved some of her best games of the season for the tournament stage, was named Most Outstanding player.
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