UCLA defeats Texas in Final Four, will play South Carolina for title

PHOENIX — When the final moments of Friday’s Final Four semifinal ticked away, the UCLA Bruins were mainly thinking about one thing.

They have one last match together.

Every UCLA women’s basketball player said it in the minutes following a historic victory over Texas to reach the first NCAA Tournament championship game in school history. The Bruins (36-1) fought through a grueling 51-44 defensive battle to advance to Sunday’s national championship game against South Carolina (36-3).

This Bruins team, led by six players in their final season of eligibility, set a goal of playing on the final day of the season, a distinction they missed one day a year ago when they were eliminated by Connecticut in the Final Four.

UCLA forward Angela Dugalic celebrates after scoring a three-pointer in the first quarter Friday against Texas in the Final Four.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“The love we have for each other really drives us to compete hard,” said UCLA center Lauren Betts, who finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and a game-saving block. “We want this for each other so much. The way we go out, the way we prepare, the way we practice, the way we work on defense, the way we throw interceptions, it’s all because we just want to earn more days with each other. We want to make history. We want to do this for each other.”

UCLA didn’t trail again after giving up the first field goal, but the Bruins couldn’t pull away, even after taking a 13 lead in the fourth quarter, thwarted by a record 23 turnovers that left Texas trailing.

Betts blocked a Madison Booker layup with 20 seconds remaining to give UCLA the ball with a three-point lead. Kiki Rice then made two sets of free throws and UCLA escaped Texas’ comeback in the fourth quarter after the Longhorns went on a 12-2 run.

“I’m really, really proud of this group,” Betts said. “I think it shows maturity. I know I can count on anyone on this team, regardless of the score. We’re going to continue to show up and compete.”

Neither team had reached 40 points until UCLA did so with 7:56 remaining. Both teams’ point totals were their lowest of the season.

And yet, the Bruins found a rhythm early in the fourth quarter to open a double-digit lead and continued to hold the Longhorns (35-4) to a season-low 31 percent from the field.

For all the praise the Texas defense received, it was the UCLA defense that dictated the pace of Friday’s game and shut down the Longhorns’ offense to avenge the Bruins’ only loss.

Thirty victories later, the Bruins are on the cusp of a championship.

“Whatever style of play we present, we will be ready to play,” said Rice, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds. “Today was obviously a lot less scoring, a defensive battle, and we were ready to do that. We relied on our defense, our physicality and our ability to hold up in games, get stops and score what we needed to score.”

The Bruins held Booker, the Longhorns’ best offensive weapon, to six points on 3-for-23 shooting.

Texas was the only team to defeat UCLA this season, earning a 76-65 victory on November 26 after Betts was injured midway through the contest.

UCLA players (from left) Kiki Rice, Angela Dugalic and Lauren Betts react in the final seconds of the Bruins’ win over Texas on Friday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

On Friday, UCLA went on a 14-2 run in the first quarter to take a 10 lead and force a Texas timeout with two minutes remaining. The Longhorns scored one of eight during that stretch, and their six points in the quarter were their fewest all season.

But the Bruins committed four straight turnovers to allow Texas to close the gap even as the Longhorns struggled to score. UCLA finished the half missing six of its final seven shots and entered halftime with a 20-17 lead. Neither team scored in the final 2½ minutes of the second quarter.

The combined 37 points were the second-fewest single-half total in Final Four history. Texas, which entered the game ranked 5th nationally in offensive efficiency, shot just 25 percent at halftime.

The score did not recover in the second half. The teams combined for 22 points in the third quarter and UCLA took an eight-point lead.

UCLA fans celebrate the Bruins’ win over Texas in the Final Four on Friday night.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Texas’ Carlton Justice was fouled while making a layup and made a free throw with 53 seconds left in the quarter to return to a one-possession contest and added another layup to pull within one. The Bruins led 31-28 at the end of the quarter.

UCLA went up by 10 after a three-pointer by Rice and a quick layup by Gabriela Jaquez, then Gianna Kneepkens scored a three-pointer with five minutes remaining to give the Bruins their largest lead.

Texas came back three times with just under a minute to play, and after an Angela Dugalic miss, Texas had a chance to take the last shot of regulation. Betts, however, delivered the clutch block and UCLA took possession.

“It really speaks to the collective mindset of this team and their unselfishness like every position, whether it’s offense or defense,” said Charlisse Leger-Walker, who had four rebounds and four assists while navigating a stifling Texas full-court press. “We didn’t care who it was. We just knew we were trying to play as a team. And even when things weren’t going our way, we really relied on our leadership and experience to stay calm if they went on runs.”

Texas was successful most of the tournament thanks to a lockdown defensive effort and got a shooting boost from Rori Harmon and Booker. UCLA largely gave the Longhorns no space to make comfortable shots, while the Bruins took advantage of transition opportunities and Betts hit layups.

“It was really crucial in the last stretch, in the fourth quarter we got the most touches to Lauren,” coach Cori Close said. “I thought that was the difference for us coming out on top, getting a high shooting percentage” late.

With the Longhorns having to run down the clock, Close sent players to his bench, while seniors and graduate students were able to celebrate on the sidelines.

One last day, with a chance to win a championship.

“Obviously we are aiming for victory,” Dugalic said. “That’s going to be our mindset, but I don’t want this, the result, to take anything away from the rest of what we’ve done, not just last year, but the years leading up to that.”