UCLA Claims 1st NCAA Women's Basketball Title

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, the AP reports. 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. 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. 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.