UCLA Bruins dominate South Carolina 79-51 to claim first women’s basketball NCAA title
To be the best, you have to beat the best, and the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team did just that with an exclamation point Sunday to climb the mountain peak.
They (37-1) dismantled South Carolina 79-51 in the 2026 NCAA national championship game to win their first title since joining in 1981.
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The emphatic victory capped 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 in Sunday’s historic victory.
UCLA put its foot on the gas early, surviving an injury to Betts, who received treatment on the bench after appearing to be hit in the throat. He finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 21-10 lead into the second.
The Gamecocks held strong in the second half, but were still outscored 15-13 as the Bruins took a 36-23 lead into halftime.
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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 led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, with 10 rebounds to give her a double-double in a national championship game.
South Carolina’s 36-4 season ended with a disappointing loss in the championship game. Dawn Staley’s team finishes second for the second straight year after winning its third title in program history during the 2023-2024 season.
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UCLA’s first-ever NCAA title comes after head coach Cori Close’s steady progression during her 15 seasons at the helm. Although she missed the NCAA Tournament in three of her first four years, she quickly transformed UCLA into a perennial playoff team, reaching nine of the next 10 seasons.
Last season, the Bruins advanced to their first Final Four, where they fell to eventual champion Connecticut. They returned four of five starters for 2025-26, adding Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkins to the roster and moving senior Angela Dugalic to the primary option off the bench.
