The UCLA women’s basketball team won its first-ever NCAA Championship on Apr. 5, defeating South Carolina 79-51 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. The Bruins, entering as a No. 1 seed, finished their season with a record of 37-1 and never trailed during the title game.
This win marks an important milestone for UCLA’s program, securing its second national title in women’s basketball and its first since joining the NCAA tournament structure. Previously, UCLA won the AIAW national title in 1978 before the NCAA began sponsoring women’s championships.
Senior Gabriela Jaquez led all scorers with 21 points while Gianna Kneepkens added 15 points and Lauren Betts contributed a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice also scored in double figures for UCLA. Head coach Cori Close, now in her fifteenth season leading the Bruins, guided her team to this historic achievement.
The Bruins took control of the game by outscoring South Carolina by sixteen points in the third quarter and forcing eight turnovers during that period. Their balanced scoring attack saw five players reach double digits while holding South Carolina to just over twenty-five percent shooting from the field through two quarters.
With this championship win, UCLA also secured its athletic department’s second NCAA title of the academic year—joining men’s water polo—and increased its total to one hundred twenty-six NCAA team championships overall. That places UCLA second among all Division I programs nationwide.
As the final buzzer sounded on Sunday afternoon, UCLA closed out an almost perfect season including an undefeated record in Big Ten play.
