It’s ‘all or nothing’ for UCLA seniors chasing NCAA women’s title
PHOENIX — You’d be forgiven if you thought this year’s Final Four was just a case of déjà vu.
On paper, it seems true: Four No. 1 seeds that have dominated every round of the NCAA Tournament arrived in Phoenix this week, and they’re the same four teams that reached the Final Four last year in Tampa, Florida.
Maintaining that level of success in the modern college basketball era, all four teams insist, is not as easy.
Connecticut doesn’t have Paige Bueckers; South Carolina doesn’t have Kamilla Cardoso; and UCLA coach Cori Close and the Bruins have a very different roster.
“Getting here,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, “is the hardest part.”
UCLA coach Close noted during the Sweet 16 that the work to stay competitive in this era is exhausting for coaches, and it’s only getting more difficult. She will have another rebuild ahead of her immediately after reaching the pinnacle of the sport in back-to-back campaigns.
The Bruins will graduate the majority of their rotation after this season, with all five starters and top bench player Angela Dugalic expected to be WNBA draft picks in April.
Does that make this a breakthrough year for UCLA?
“I think in the back of our minds we all know this is our last attempt,” Bruins senior center Lauren Betts said. “It’s all or nothing for all of us.
“…I think when we play, especially around this time, you can see throughout March Madness, we come out with a certain level of urgency because it’s our senior year. I think [Friday]we’re going to go out with the same level of urgency from the start.
UCLA’s Lauren Betts, left, and Angela Dugalic celebrate during the second half of the Bruins’ Elite Eight victory over Duke on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
UCLA senior forward Gabriela Jaquez added, “We just fight for more days with each other at the end of the day.”
Even though the Bruins will bring back young talents like Lena Bilic and Sienna Betts and add injured senior Timea Gardiner, they will essentially have to start from scratch. That’s not all that unusual in the transfer portal era, where TCU went to the Elite Eight with five starters transferring into the program.
“It’s just brutal,” Close said Thursday. “It’s a grind and that’s why all four of us should be really proud to be here. It doesn’t make us any less competitive or less eager to win a national championship. But I think it’s worth it to pause and say, ‘Man, it’s amazing to be in this position, especially two years in a row.’
To build this team, Close needed to bring Gianna Kneepkens into the portal, get Charlisse Leger-Walker healthy after transferring last season, convince Kiki Rice and Jaquez to have career-best years, help Lauren Betts establish herself as a defender with a dominant offensive force, and support a player like Dugalic ready to come off the bench.
The other three teams have starters they can rely on for years to come. The Gamecocks, arguably the most successful program of the last half-decade, landed Florida State scorer Ta’Niya Latson and Mississippi State center Madina Okot in the portal during the offseason to go along with returners Raven Johnson and Joyce Edwards.
“It’s not going to happen by magic,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said, emphasizing that strong habits are key.
The Huskies, defending national champions with a strong recruiting pipeline and unparalleled success during Auriemma’s tenure, are somewhat of an anomalous compared to the changing of the guard in the NCAA. South Carolina has been here for six straight years – with very different distributions – while Texas hasn’t won a title since 1986 and UCLA has never done so.
“To do it at the level that all four teams here have reached this year, and really consistently, I think for all four teams here, the only thing harder than building it is maintaining it,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “When you hold it to the level that the teams here have done it to over the years, it’s truly incredible.
“What it takes to live there year after year, it’s tough. I think that’s what coach [Close] I was speaking a few weeks ago. Man, she wasn’t looking for any sympathy or anything. It’s just a statement, man. It’s hard. Winning at this level is difficult. It is.”
It might have seemed obvious that this tournament was going to be chalked up, but that doesn’t make anything automatic and it doesn’t mean UCLA will stay atop the podium for years to come. UConn went three years between titles, after all.
UCLA coach Cori Close instructs her players during a victory over Minnesota in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament on March 27.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
None of the four No. 1 seeds have struggled much in their respective matches in this tournament. The closest was UCLA’s 70-58 win over Duke, when the Bruins trailed at halftime and came back to win for the first time all season.
But UConn went eight scoreless minutes against Notre Dame in the 70-52 win in the Elite Eight. Texas and South Carolina have been rolling, and Texas is 16-3 against top 25 teams and arguably has the best momentum of any team left standing.
UCLA might have a path back to that place once teams show how quickly they can rebuild. After all, TCU was in the Elite Eight several years in a row after having to forfeit games due to lack of players.
But UConn will return Sarah Strong and Blanca Quiñonez, South Carolina will have Edwards back and Texas will have another year of Madison Booker, and other promising teams like Michigan and USC will be dangerous.
This may not be the Bruins’ last chance to win the Big Dance, but it could be their best ever. Getting here, after all, is the hardest part.
“I think success leaves clues as to who will be next,” Dugalic said. “We’re trying to leave that to the next generation of basketball, maintain that, show that it’s tough. It’s not nine-on-five, it’s our life, and that’s what it takes to get everyone here.”
