UCLA Bruins celebrate after defeating Minnesota Golden Gophers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Sacramento Regional 2 of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center.
No. 1 seed UCLA women’s basketball advanced to the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA Tournament after defeating No. 3 seed Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
The Bruins trailed the Blue Devils for the entire first half and part of the third quarter. But the veteran-heavy UCLA squad immediately set a new tone at the start of the second half, outscoring Duke 20-8 in the third quarter. In the fourth, UCLA outscored Duke again 19-11 to win the game by a score of 70-58.
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“We’ve been in really tough moments,” senior guard Kiki Rice said, per the Orange County Register. “We’ve been in games where we’ve been down, and we had to make a comeback in the second half, so I just think we had a very calm nature about us. We knew we needed to make adjustments, so we had trust and belief that we would be able to do that.”
In addition to making it to their second Final Four in two seasons, the Bruins set a new program record with 35 total wins this season. The Elite Eight victory also marked UCLA’s 29th consecutive win this season.
Duke Blue Devils forward Toby Fournier (35) defends against UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) during the second quarter in the Sacramento Regional 4 of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at the Golden 1 Center.
Which Other Teams Are in the Final Four?
UCLA will join No. 1 seed UConn as the second team to punch its ticket to the Final Four. Both programs were part of the Final Four last season and could be rejoined by No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Texas for the second year in a row.
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The Bruins’ only loss of the season was against the Longhorns on Nov. 26. If Texas takes down No. 2 seed Michigan on Monday, UCLA and Texas will go head-to-head in the semi-finals, giving the Bruins a chance to avenge their sole loss of the season.
Meanwhile, South Carolina will face No. 3 seed TCU on Monday. The winner of that game will battle the defending national champions, UConn, in the semi-finals.
UCLA is just two wins away from winning the program’s first NCAA national championship. The title would be the second national championship in program history after the Bruins won the AIAW national championship in 1978.
“I think this year we have the approach of, this is a job,” graduate student forward Angela Dugalić said, per the Orange County Register. “This is a business trip, at the end of the day. And we have a job to do. And that’s to win a national championship.”
Photo Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
