The UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team won its first NCAA championship Sunday night, closing out a 37-1 season with a dominant 79-51 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks in Phoenix.
Head coach Cori Close and the top-seeded Bruins controlled the game from start to finish, putting together a performance that reflected months of preparation.
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Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez led the way with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Gianna Kneepkens chipped in 15 points and four assists from the backcourt.
Barack Obama reacts to UCLA’s first NCAA title
UCLA Bruins forward Gabriela Jaquez (left), center Lauren Betts (center) and guard Charlisse Leger-Walker
Lauren Betts anchored the paint with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks, earning Most Outstanding Player honors for her efforts.
The championship caught attention beyond the college basketball world. Former President Barack Obama posted a message on X recognizing Betts and UCLA’s senior class after the final buzzer.
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“Congratulations to Lauren Betts and the sensational seniors at @UCLAWBB for winning their first NCAA Championship!” he wrote on X.
Obama originally picked UCLA to lose to the UConn Huskies in his bracket. It surely made his reaction a bit more interesting.
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This title marks UCLA’s first in NCAA women’s basketball, though the program won the 1978 AIAW tournament before the NCAA took over women’s competition. The victory also pushed UCLA to 126 total NCAA championships across all sports, second only to Stanford University.
The men’s championship game tips off Monday night in Indianapolis. Top-seeded Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball faces No. 2 UConn Huskies after Michigan knocked off the Arizona Wildcats, another Obama bracket pick.
UConn advanced past the Illinois Fighting Illini earlier in the weekend. It rounded out a Final Four that didn’t quite match the former president’s predictions.
