UCLA Wins First NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Over South Carolina

The UCLA women’s basketball team won its first NCAA championship on April 5, 2026, defeating South Carolina 79-51 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The victory marks the first NCAA championship in the program’s history and the first for the Big Ten Conference.

The Bruins finished the season with a 37-1 record, having previously secured the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten tournament championship. The championship win represents the 126th overall NCAA team title for the University of California, Los Angeles.

Game Performance and Statistics

UCLA maintained a lead throughout the championship game, establishing a 13-point advantage by half-time. By the fourth quarter, the lead had expanded to 35 points. The 28-point margin of victory is the third largest in the history of the Division I women’s championship final.

Senior Gabriela Jaquez led the team with 21 points, recording 8 of 14 shots and hitting 2 of 4 attempts from 3-point distance. Gianna Kneepkens contributed 15 points, including 3 of 7 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Lauren Betts recorded 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while Kiki Rice and Charlisse Leger-Walker each scored 10 points.

Lauren Betts was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and received the Naismith Lisa Leslie award as the NCAA’s best center.

Institutional and Coaching Context

Head coach Cori Close, who was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year, achieved the championship in her 15th season as the Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach. Close attributed the success to the team’s character, stating to ESPN’s Holly Rowe, All year we’ve been saying the talent is our floor, but our character will determine our ceiling.

While Here’s the program’s first NCAA title, it is the second national title for UCLA women’s basketball. The university previously won a national championship in 1978 under the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), prior to the NCAA taking over the championship in 1982.

It’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.

Cori Close

Tournament Path

As a No. 1 seed, UCLA reached the finals by eliminating five opponents during the tournament. This included a 51-44 victory over the Texas Longhorns in the Final Four, which avenged the Bruins’ only loss of the season.

The victory over South Carolina, who entered the game with a 36-4 record, concluded a 31-game winning streak for the Bruins.