UCLA Bruins dominate South Carolina 79-51 to claim first women's basketball NCAA title
To be the best, you need to beat the best, and the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team did that with an exclamation point on Sunday to climb the mountaintop.
The Bruins (37-1) dismantled South Carolina 79-51 in the 2026 NCAA National Championship Game to earn their first title since joining in 1981. It was their 31st straight win after an early-season loss to the Texas Longhorns, whom they defeated in the Final Four to earn a berth in the national championship.
The emphatic victory capped off a dominant run through March Madness for the Bruins, led by 6-foot-7 senior center Lauren Betts, who led the team in scoring in four of their six games. She had 14 points and 11 rebounds during Sunday's historic win.
UCLA put its foot on the gas early, surviving an injury scare to Betts, who received treatment on the bench after appearing to be hit in the throat. It finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 21-10 lead into the second.
The Gamecocks held their own in the second, but were still outscored 15-13 as the Bruins took a 36-23 lead at the half.
The Bruins, however, put the game – and the trophy – virtually out of reach in the third quarter by outscoring the Gamecocks by 16.
UCLA senior Gabriela Jaquez, whose older brother Jaime played for the Bruins' men's basketball team and is currently a member of the Miami Heat, led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, tacking on 10 rebounds to give her a national championship game double-double.
"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 after the final whistle. "I imagined it so many times, and I am just so, so proud."
South Carolina's (36-4) season ended with a disappointing flop in the championship game. Dawn Staley's squad finishes as the runner-up for the second-straight year after winning its third title in program history in the 2023-2024 season.
UCLA's first-ever NCAA title comes after what's been a steady build-up for head coach Cori Close in her 15 seasons at the helm. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament in three of her first four years, she quickly turned UCLA into a perennial postseason team, making it in nine of the next 10 seasons.
"It's immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine," Close said following the game. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."
Coach Close was mentored by the great John Wooden, who led the UCLA Bruins to 10 National Championships, and adopted his well-known "Pyramid of Success," which she says she has taught her own players.
"In the end, banners hang in gyms and rings collect dust, and the only thing that lasts is who they become and who they impact. And so, I will always value that most," Close said while speaking with CBS LA's Jaime Maggio. "Being at the top of the mountain doesn't mean anything unless you're sharing it in real genuine relationships and authenticity about having real pride in the place you represent."
Last season, the Bruins advanced to their first Final Four, where they fell to eventual champion Connecticut. They returned four of five starters for 2025-2026, adding senior Utah-transfer Gianna Kneepkins to the roster and moving senior Angela Dugalic to the primary option off the bench.
UCLA officials say that a championship celebration is scheduled for Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. Details for the free event are still being ironed out, officials said.