Ever since its inception, the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship has unofficially felt like the Los Angeles Invitational. That’s because, for the vast majority of its history, the event was dominated by UCLA and Southern Cal, who combined to win the first eight championships, with four of those championships featuring an All-LA matchup. Last year felt like a changing of the guard in some respects - TCU won its first national championship, and the best UCLA could do was make the semifinals (Southern Cal was out in the quarters).

This year seemed like it would continue that trend, with the Bruins slotted in as a third seed under Stanford and Texas, and with Southern Cal fading in the quarterfinals, it would fall on UCLA to carry the torch for the LA area. The Bruins had to scrap past Cal Poly in the quarterfinals and won a back-and-forth game against Texas in the semifinals, which set them up for a 5th meeting of the season with Stanford for the championship. The two teams had split the previous four meetings, so the expectation going into today’s national championship match was that this would be a war that might come down to the final set.

That didn’t happen. Not in the slightest.

UCLA was the better team from the opening serve, winning the first set on all five courts and grabbing the first two points of the match on courts two and four in fairly dominant fashion. With the Bruins up 2-0, all eyes turned to match 1, where UCLA was locked in a second-set battle after a dominant first set. Part of that could be attributed to a knee injury that Sally Perez seemed to suffer during the first set, but the Cardinal also seemed to finally settle into the match. The two teams traded points down to the end, when a few smart plays at the net allowed the Bruins to grab the second set, and thus win their third beach volleyball championship and the 127th in school history.

I want to stress just how dominant this championship performance was. UCLA did not drop a single set on Sunday; even in the matches that were not finished, the Bruins held 19-8 and 18-15 leads (the third match in particular was not highlighted on the ESPN feed, likely because it would have removed all of the conflict from the presentation). Stanford only forced extra points in one set, where Ava Williamson and Jesse Dueck were forced to put up 25 points before winning the second set and their match. The Bruins have plenty of experience playing on Sunday in Gulf Shores compared to Stanford, and that experience seemed to carry the day; the Cardinal never seemed to get out of the blocks by comparison.

For UCLA, this was a special run to a championship. Not only did the program win its third national championship, but it was its first since 2019 after coming so tantalizingly close in 2023 and 2024, losing heartbreakers to Southern Cal. There are multiple players on this team who were also on the squad for those losses, so this was a bit of redemption for them. This was also the first national championship for Jenny Johnson Jordan as head coach, which gives her a triple-crown of championships; she won a championship as a player for UCLA in volleyball, then was an assistant coach for the national championship squads of 2018 and 2019. In addition, the Bruins had to go through former coach Stein Metzger in the semifinals, which I’m sure was a cathartic experience for the program.

After the match, Sally Perez said that she wanted to be known as the grittiest team in the country, which they proved throughout their tournament run. But as the team ran into the Gulf waters with their trophy, I think there’s another, better descriptor that this team has earned:

Champion

Congratulations to the Bruins on returning to the top of the sport!

National Champions!

Go Bruins!!!

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The two schools with the most NCAA titles will square off this morning with a national championship on the line.

The Bruins will be seeking UCLA’s 127th NCAA title while the Cardinal is looking for Stanford’s 139th NCAA title. This will be the first time UCLA and Stanford have met for an NCAA title since the women’s golf teams met in 2024 with a national championship on the line.

Of course, a UCLA win would cut Stanford’s lead to just 11 titles while a Cardinal win would increase their lead to 13 titles.

Last Time Out

Yesterday, the Bruins faced the Cal Poly Mustangs in the second round. UCLA won the first set on three of the five courts. On Court 2, Cal Poly’s Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter defeated UCLA’s Kaley Mathews and Ensley Alde, 21-12. On Court 4, UCLA’s Ava Williamson and Jesse Dueck dropped their first set, 17-21.

The Bruins scored the first point of the dual when Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd beat Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep, 21-18, 21-12.

Cal Poly tied the match, 1-1, when Martinez and Walter took the second set from Mathews and Alde, 21-17.

Court 5 was where Kenzie Brower and Mallory LaBreche dispatched Peyton Dueck and Katie Clevenger, 22-20, 23-21, to give the Bruins the lead. Meanwhile, Alexa Fernandez and Harper Cooper took care of business against Quinn Perry and Ashleigh Adams, 21-19, 21-19, to complete the Bruin victory.

That sent UCLA to the semifinals against Texas yesterday afternoon. Of course, the Longhorns are coached by former Bruin head coach Stein Metzger, who led UCLA to the team’s two national titles.

Against the Longhorns, the Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Williamson and Jesse Dueck swept Chloe Charles and Eva Lisa Kuivonen, 21-17, 21-19, on Court 4 and Fernandez and Cooper beat Emma Grace Robertson and Lily Davis, 21-12, 21-14, on Court 3.

With their backs to the wall, the Longhorns mounted a comeback. Brecht Piersma and Katie Hashman swept Perez and Boyd, 21-19, 21-19 on Court 1. On Court 2, sisters Anna Pavelkova and Kacka Pavelkova needed three sets to beat Mathews and Alden, 21-15, 17-21, 15-9, to tie the dual at 2-2.

That meant that the Bruins would need to win on Court 5 to advance to their fifth national championship dual. Well, Brower and LaBreche took the first set relatively easily, 21-15. But the number two seed wasn’t going down that easily.

The second set was the set which didn’t want to end, going an extra 12 points as neither pair could get to the two-point margin needed to win. Finally, Brower and LeBreche got there to finish off Macey Butler and Karin Zolnercikova, 28-26, in set two to send the Bruins onto today’s national championship dual against the Stanford Cardinal.

Stanford Cardinal

While the Cardinal may have moved to the ACC for most sports, Stanford remains an MPSF foe for Beach Volleyball. This season, the Bruins and the Cardinal split four meetings with each team winning twice. So, it seems fitting that the national championship will serve as the rubber match for the two MPSF teams with the best overall records.

On Friday, the Cardinal swept Chattanooga, 3-0. Yesterday, they beat rival UC Berkeley, 3-1, in the second round to advance to the national semifinals against fifth-seeded Florida State. Stanford topped the Seminoles, 3-1, in that dual to move on to today’s championship dual.

This will be the first appearance in a national championship dual for the Cardinal and head coach Andrew Fuller, who is in his tenth season leading Stanford.

NCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship

Teams: #3 seed UCLA Bruins (33-6) vs. #1 seed Stanford Cardinal (39-4)
Time: Sunday, May 4, 2026, 9:30 am PT
Where: Gulf Beach Place, Gulf Shores, AL
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app


Go Bruins!!! Bring home NC #127!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

Yesterday, the top six seeds all swept their opponents to advance to the second round of the NCAA Beach Volleyball tournament in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Meanwhile, the seventh-seeded Loyola Marymount and the eighth-seeded UC Berkeley Golden Bears both went the distance against their opponents, but ultimately, they both won their duals to ensure that the top eight seeds all advanced to today’s second round.

UCLA, which is the number three seed this year, swept the 14 seed Tulane Green Wave, 3-0.

Last Time Out

When the Bruins squared off against Tulane yesterday, UCLA came out and promptly swept the match.

UCLA began the dual by winning the first set on four of the five courts. Only the #4 pair of Ava Williamson and Jesse Dueck lost their first set, 24-26.

The #5 pair of Kenzie Brower and Mallory LaBreche set up the sweep by defeating Avery Burks and Lauren Mann, 21-12, 21-13, to give UCLA their first point.

The #1 pair of Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd scored the Bruins second point by sweeping Tulane’s Molly Trodd and Skylar Ensign, 21-16, 21-14.

That left the Bruins needing just one more point to advance.

On Court #2, Kaley Mathews and Ensley Alden swept Emma Morris and Katie Hansen, 21-10, 21-16, to complete the sweep. Meanwhile, the #3 pair of Alexa Fernandez and Harper Cooper took their first set 22-20 and were ahead 16-11 when play was stopped by the UCLA victory. Williamson and Dueck were down 9-12 when play was stopped.

Cal Poly Mustangs

In yesterday’s first round, #6 seed Cal Poly swept #11 seed Grand Canyon, 3-0. The #4 pair of Julia Westby and Elise Lenahan defeated Jessica Drake and Isabelle Tucker, 21-16, 21-14, to score the Mustangs’ first point.

Then, Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep swept Karynn Garrow and Becca Drake, 21-12 21-17.

That left the Antelopes needing to win on all three remaining courts in order to advance.

The #2 pair of Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter did their part by winning the third set against Katie Keefe and Sarah Edler to finish GCU, 19-21, 21-5, 15-10.

Pairs #3 and Pair #5 each split the first two sets and the Mustangs were again ahead in the third set when play was stopped.

This is your NCAA Beach Volleyball second round and semifinals open thread.

NCAA Beach Volleyball Second Round

Teams: #3 seed UCLA Bruins (31-6) vs. #6 seed Cal Poly Mustangs (31-8)
Probable Start Time: Saturday, May 2, 2026, 10:00 am PT (following conclusion of Texas vs. LMU)
Where: Gulf Beach Place, Gulf Shores, AL
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

NCAA Beach Volleyball Semifinals

Teams: Winner of #3 seed UCLA Bruins (31-6) vs. #6 seed Cal Poly Mustangs (31-8) vs. the winner of #2 seed Texas Longhorns vs. # 7 seed LMU
Probable Start Time: Saturday, May 2, 2026, 12:30 pm PT (following conclusion of Texas vs. LMU)
Where: Gulf Beach Place, Gulf Shores, AL
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app


Go Bruins!!! Bring home NC #127!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

Hello everyone! It is time to do a retrospective about a topic that I’m sure everyone will be calm and chill about: UCLA men’s basketball.

In this year’s post-mortem, we’ll take a look at the program failing to meet expectations (and what that means), have a quick discussion about the offensive “improvements” and the extension, and talk about paths forward. Let’s dive in!

When Expectations Fail to Meet Reality

Let’s start with how the team matched up with my preseason expectations. As a reminder, those were:

• Win the nonconference games.

• Top 30 in both offensive and defensive efficiency per KenPom.

• Top three in the Big Ten.

• Get to the Sweet Sixteen.

Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.

I think nothing illustrates just how thoroughly the Bruins failed to meet the moment more than how badly they whiffed on these expectations. Now, of course, the Bruins were a bit better at some of these than others - for example, the Bruins actually had a top 30 offense and did make the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament when they were playing their best basketball - but they fell short in large part because the group just did not come together in time. You could list out all the problems that took place, such as Eric Dailey getting injured before the season, Tyler Bilodeau going down twice for different issues, Skyy Clark’s midseason hamstring strain, but those are nothing more than things that happened. We saw that this team could play elite basketball, such as the wins over Illinois, Purdue, and Nebraska, to say nothing of the victory over Michigan State without Bilodeau and how close they played Purdue without both Bilodeau and Dent, but they were too inconsistent throughout the season, and their final spot as the #28 team per KenPom reflects that.

There’s no one thing you can point to as being the reason for these failures - well, besides the fact that the team had a 7’ 3” hole in the center that it was clearly built around - but I think the main problem would be one of misevaluations. Eric Dailey was miscast as a three, looking out of place all season away from his more natural position at the four. Xavier Booker, bless him, was not ready for the role he was being asked to fill, and only started to flourish once he was moved to the bench. Donovan Dent struggled to adapt to Cronin’s style of play, and while he eventually figured things out (and got healthy), that was still a large chunk of change that was paid him for what graded out as above-average guard play.

The funny part is, by the end of the season, Cronin had finally figured out what was going to work the best. Tyler Bilodeau, who was essentially promised that he would not have to play the five for a majority of the year, was finally shifted back to his primary position from last year, which moved Eric Dailey back to his more natural position of the four and created a pathway to getting UCLA’s strong guard trifecta on the court at the same time. Moving Booker to the bench led to an increase in his production and created more opportunities for Eric Freeny and Brandon Williams to impact the game off the bench. This group still had issues - for example, it was still a bad rebounding group - but this lineup maximized the roster to its fullest extent and allowed UCLA to rattle off a series of strong victories over Nebraska, Michigan State, and Final Four participant Illinois.

But therein lies the rub of the season, and perhaps the crux of how people feel about this team and program after the season. UCLA entered the team ranked #12 in the nation and finished it unranked (technically #27 if you count Others Receiving Votes in the AP). The team finished 28th in KenPom, a year after finishing 20th. There were a lot of expectations for this team at the beginning of the season, and they were unable to meet them in large part because it took the team too long to settle on the best path forward. Had they figured things out earlier, maybe grabbed a big non-conference win or avoided some midseason injuries that led to losses in winnable games to Ohio State or Iowa, maybe this team gets a 5th or 6th seed instead of facing the national runner-up in the second round (a winnable game lost, in many ways, because Bilodeau was injured).

Here’s the really fun part: Mick Cronin’s program is now going to be judged on its failures even harsher because of the success that the women’s team has had down the hall. Perhaps that is unfair, especially given the differences in talent present in the men’s and women’s game and all the failures earlier in Coach Cori Close’s career that she was allowed to work through to get to this moment, but that is the reality of coaching a Tiffany program like UCLA. The expectation is that you win, and win big, and failure to do so is only going to be magnified when other programs on your own campus are winning national titles.

I am certain there are going to be people who came away from this season with positive feelings - I myself will remember how exciting it was to be at Pauley for that Purdue win, or how dumbstruck everyone was by the Nebraska win - but when looking over the entire body of work from this past season, it is hard to consider this to be a successful season. Which leads into my next topic…

Let’s Talk About that Extension

Let’s go back to the season preview again, which I led off with the following:

Make no mistake: UCLA, and Mick Cronin in particular, desperately need a good run this season. With all of the uncertainty in the athletic department of late, Cronin needs a great run to solidify his support among donors, allowing him to raise the funds required to give UCLA a fighting chance in the new college basketball landscape. Or, to put it another way, a subpar UCLA season might give Martin Jarmond cause to consider a coaching change, and given his track record so far, that is a risk Bruin Nation can ill afford to sit through.

I guess the good news here is Martin Jarmond isn’t going to hire a new coach this offseason!

Obviously, I wrote that intro back in the first week of November, back when we were all blissfully unaware of the secret extension Cronin had signed back in May that made any doubts as to Cronin’s continued employment at UCLA moot. A $22.5 million buyout, even one that would naturally get negotiated down following the termination of the contract, is more than enough to buy Cronin another year at the helm of the program.

Now, you may disagree and think that if UCLA were serious about basketball, they would be more than willing to throw down the buyout money now and reset the program. But I will hazard a guess that you, dear reader, do not have a spare $22.5 million lying around to hasten his departure, and if you do, I have better suggestions for how to spend that money. Or rather, I have better suggestions for who you should be targeting with that money.

It should go without saying that athletic director Martin Jarmond is not a favorite around these parts; the glow of the Bob Chesney hire has done nothing to dull out the taste of the Deshaun Foster saga, let alone everything going on with the Rose Bowl. But even in this case, Jarmond has not covered himself in glory, as he allowed himself to be held hostage by Cronin and agreed to an extension well before one was even necessary, taking what had been a “prove it” year and turning it into one with no chance of consequences. I don’t blame Mick Cronin for this - I am a firm believer that people should secure the bag as often as possible - but someone at the athletic department needs to get better about evaluating the major programs without having to rely on outside help.

About That Offense Real Quick

Ok, this one is going to go some places, bear with me.

On the one hand, I do think UCLA took some notable steps towards operating a more modern, elite offense. UCLA’s offensive KenPom rating of 26th was solid and represented UCLA’s best offensive output since the Jaime Jaquez days, but I think you could make the argument that this was the best offense Mick Cronin has ever produced. Those Jaime Jaquez teams had higher KenPom ratings, but they did a lot of their work in isolation, a byproduct of having great isolation scorers like Jaquez, Johnny Juzang, and Tyger Campbell. This year’s team was better at utilizing everyone, with a better distributor in Donovan Dent, creating easier looks for the entire team. The team’s true shooting percentage of .570 represents the best mark of the Mick Cronin era, and was indicative of a team that had a steady diet of points in the paint and outside the arc.

But let’s compare it to a few other teams from this past season. Let’s start with Illinois, a team that was widely considered to have the best offense in the country this year. The Illini’s true shooting percentage finished a bit higher at .584, but what stands out the most is the three-point attempt rate (aka a measure of how many of a team’s shots came from behind the three-point line). The Illini finished the season having taken 49.7% of their shots from behind the arc, one of the highest marks in the nation, and while the Bruins might have hit more of their three-point shots, Illinois took almost 10 more three-point shots a game, which makes a huge difference.

Michigan is another good comparison point. Not because of Aday Mara, but rather by looking at their shot diet. Michigan had a true shooting percentage of .614, with a three-point attempt rate of 41.4%. Again, the Wolverines were a team that shot a higher number of three-pointers than UCLA, but they supplemented that with even more shots at the rim. Yes, Michigan’s size was a major factor here, but the comparison is helpful because both Michigan and Illinois are running more modern offenses that UCLA should try to emulate in shot diet.

This UCLA team was one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, hitting their shots beyond the arc at a 37.9% clip. That was good enough for 20th in the nation. The problem, however, is that UCLA did not take three-point shots at nearly a high-enough rate to make that a problem for opponents. The Bruins’ 20.7 three-point attempts per game sat at a miserable 273rd in the country, well behind most of the best offenses around. The Bruins often settled for midrange jumpers, and while Tyler Bilodeau turned that into a weapon, it was still a wildly inefficient shot compared to a three-pointer. UCLA should have shot more three-pointers, point-blank.

I do find the tempo arguments to be more a stylistic disagreement than anything rooted in fact - after all, the top two offenses per KenPom, Purdue and Illinois, operated at tempos similar to UCLA’s - but what the Bruins could really benefit from as well is more offense in transition. Mick Cronin’s defense prides itself on deflections, which should lead to more live-ball turnovers and thus more opportunities to run out, but the Bruins were more likely to pull back and reset themselves. Transition offense, at the very least, allows your team to attack a defense before it is set, which gives you a higher chance of a successful play (either a made basket or drawn foul).

The bigger issue, though, is shot selection. Cronin’s offense has evolved over the past few years away from isolation basketball and towards more free-flowing basketball, with players looking to pass up good shots to set up great ones. Many of the poor runs of play this past year came not from the offense stalling out and having one player hold the ball too long, but rather from shots not falling, which happens. But for the offense to take the next step, the shot selection has to improve. UCLA needs to cut the longer midrange shots out of its diet as much as possible in favor of more three-pointers and drives to the basket. This year was a positive step, but things could get better.

Is There a Path Forward?

This question actually splits into two parts: first, is Mick Cronin a good-enough coach to win at a high level at UCLA, and second, can he bring in the requisite talent to do that in the future?

On that first question, I would state that anyone telling you that Cronin is not a good coach is either lying to you or trying to sell you something. Even taking away that Final Four run, Mick Cronin has won his fair share of big games, or at the very least had his team in the game down to the last seconds despite being at a disadvantage. Even this year, wins over Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, and Michigan State showed he can still get his team playing at an elite level despite obvious flaws in roster construction, which is half the battle. Hell, if Cronin had better injury luck, we probably aren’t having a conversation about him today, as the 2022-2023 team likely makes a Final Four, and Cronin is able to use that run to fuel further success.

But life is not fair in that way, and instead we are forced to confront the second question, which is whether Mick Cronin can bring in the requisite talent to win at a high level in the future. The answer here is much more unclear.

The path to attaining players has changed dramatically since Mick Cronin first arrived in Westwood. High school recruiting has been deemphasized to a degree across the sport, supplanted by the transfer portal, which allows programs to target players who have actual college production to base evaluations on. And both high school and transfer recruiting are at the mercy of NIL, which has seen increased costs for schools to build competitive rosters. Coaches at big schools are constantly having to operate as a fundraiser just to build a competitive roster, which feels like an untenable situation in the long term.

For Mick Cronin, this new system has had positives and negatives. Cronin developed a reputation at Cincinnati as being a developmental coach, with a knack for taking unheralded prospects and turning them into good college players. That was one of the value propositions when it came to bringing him to Westwood, and his early seasons are littered with development success stories like Jaquez, Campbell, Juzang, and others. Jaylen Clark became a National Defensive Player of the Year and an NBA Draft pick under Cronin, and stands as the best recruiting and development story of Cronin’s tenure.

The transfer portal and NIL have made things more difficult to see this concept working. Most players aren’t willing to take redshirt years or lesser roles early in their careers because they are potentially leaving a lot of money on the table. NIL prices have continued to climb over the years, and to the point that role players today are looking for million dollar offers. At the Power Five level, this shift has led to a deemphasis on development, which takes away one of Cronin’s most valuable attributes.

I tried not to make a definitive claim as to how UCLA should approach recruiting, whether to focus on high school players or transfers, but at this point I think the answer is obvious: it doesn’t matter. Prices are outrageous no matter which way you turn. Instead, you need to bring players into your program who will best fit your system and ignore development in favor of maximizing what the players are in that moment. Michigan did that this past season by targeting the size that Dusty May covets, while UConn built their mini dynasty under Dan Hurley by targeting smart, offensive basketball players who could score at all three levels.

UCLA needs to approach recruiting by targeting players that best fit the system that is being employed. For UCLA, that means investing in long, athletic players who are tenacious defenders and rebounders, then grabbing a shooter or two to carry the offensive load. I think Cronin has a bit of Ben Howland syndrome going on, where he has strayed from the types of players that made him successful in favor of chasing the star power that Los Angeles typically covets. I find it interesting that the best two runs of UCLA basketball since the Harrick years are the ones that eschewed star power in favor of hard-nosed, defensive basketball, and that both tenures may find their end as the coaches search for more offense at the cost of their defensive identity.

There is, of course, the question of whether Mick Cronin has the ability to bring in those types of players, which I think is more of an open question than detractors would have you believe. UCLA was not lacking for talent these past few years, and has had its fair share of transfer portal success stories. Was UCLA pulling in elite talents? No, but it is hard to argue that guys like Bilodeau, Kobe Johnson, Donovan Dent, and others weren’t legitimate portal talents that were brought in, and it appears that Cronin has had more success landing portal players than he has in the high school ranks, where top end prospects is looking for multi-million dollar payouts and guarantees regarding playing time that Cronin seems unwilling to bend on. I don’t think there is a problem with this strategy in and of itself, just like I don’t think Duke’s strategy of paying for the best prep players every year and rolling the dice is necessarily bad, either. They are all equally viable strategies.

The problem is that Cronin has moved away from targeting players that fit his system and is instead trying to force imperfect pieces to work. Bilodeau is a great example; he was a supremely talented offensive player who could score in isolation, hit shots from the outside, and bang down low for points. He is the exact kind of player you can build an offense around. The problem is that he was not a good defender, and so much of the past few seasons was hampered by having to try and hide him on the defensive end. Dent, Eric Dailey, and others also struggled on that end. Some of the players developed, such as Skyy Clark, but in general, Cronin banked on the idea that he could teach good offensive players to be good defenders, and that has not held.

Consider this section a primer, as Portal Season is currently taking place and UCLA’s roster is going to look very different next year. Most of the potential returners from this past season are already signed back up, including Trent Perry, who was the subject of much public speculation, and the Bruins have been active in the market trying to fill out other areas of need on the roster. The job is not close to done, but we’ll talk about that once the dust settles in a few weeks.

Go Bruins.

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

It’s been quite the week for UCLA women’s basketball. After winning UCLA’s 126th NCAA Championship last Sunday, members of the team have been on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, been honored at Lakers and Clippers games, celebrated with Bruin fans at Pauley Pavilion, traveled to New York City for tonight’s WNBA Draft and even appeared on Good Morning America this morning.

No other pro sports league holds their entry draft as close to the end of the collegiate season as the WNBA. Baseball used to be close, but the MLB draft was pushed back to July a few years ago.

Personally, I kind of like this as it potentially builds on the excitement of Women’s March Madness by holding the draft just eight days after the women’s national championship game.

Of course, it’s most exciting when your school wins the natty and has six players eligible to be drafted.

One of the rules of the WNBA draft which was mentioned during the Final Four press conferences is that the WNBA requires players to be at least 22 years old (unless they have used up their college eligibility). This rule was frequently cited as having kept players like Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez at UCLA or, at least, in college for four years. The NBA would be wise to consider something similar to help bring some sanity back to the men’s game.

Five Bruins—Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, and Angela Dugalic—were among the 15 players invited by the league to attend this year’s draft. Of course, those 15 are the players someone thinks will be the first round picks, but anyone who watched projected NFL first-round pick Shadeur Sanders fall to the fourth round last year knows that anything can happen. So, while Charlisse Leger-Walker wasn’t among the 15 “invited” players, she’s in New York as well, and she could end up being one of the draft’s steals, either late in the first round or early second round. Any team needing a point guard would be wise to consider drafting her sooner rather than later.

One big difference between the NBA and the WNBA drafts is that the WNBA draft consists of three rounds, instead of the NBA’s two rounds. That virtually guarantees that all six Bruins will be drafted tonight, even if one or more fall to the second or third round.

As the draft order stands right now, there is a decent chance that a team could land multiple Bruins. The Washington Mystics have three first-round selections while the LA Sparks, Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun, who will be moving to Houston next season, each have two first-round picks. The Sparks, Storm, Sun and Mystics also hold four of the first five second-round picks.

Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s WNBA draft:

How to Watch, Listen and Stream the 2026 WNBA Draft

• What: 2026 WNBA Draft

• Date: Monday, April 13, 2026

• Times:

  WNBA Orange Carpet Special: 2:30 pm PT

  WNBA Countdown: 3:30 pm PT

  WNBA Draft: 4:00 pm PT, Monday, April 13, 2026

• Location: The Shed, New York, NY

• TV:

  WNBA Orange Carpet Special: ESPN2
  WNBA Countdown: ESPN
  WNBA Draft: ESPN with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Andraya Carter and Holly Rowe

• Stream:

  WNBA Orange Carpet Special: WatchESPN
  WNBA Countdown: WatchESPN
  WNBA Draft: WatchESPN

• Satellite Radio: SiriusXM NBA Radio Ch. 86 (Draft only)

Draft Order

First Round:

1. Dallas Wings
2. Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)
3. Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)
4. Washington Mystics
5. Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)
6. Toronto Tempo
7. Portland Fire
8. Golden State Valkyries
9. Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)
10. Indiana Fever
11. Washington Mystics (from New York Liberty)
12. Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix Mercury)
13. Atlanta Dream
14. Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas Aces)
15. Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota Lynx)

Second Round:

1. Seattle Storm (from Dallas Wings)
2. Chicago Sky
3. Connecticut Sun
4. Washington Mystics
5. Los Angeles Sparks
6. Portland Fire
7. Toronto Tempo
8. Golden State Valkyries
9. Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle Storm)
10) Indiana Fever
11) Chicago Sky (from New York Liberty)
12) Phoenix Mercury
13) Atlanta Dream
14) Las Vegas Aces
15) Washington Mystics (from Minnesota Lynx)

Third Round:

1. Dallas Wings
2. Chicago Sky
3. Connecticut Sun
4. Washington Mystics
5. Los Angeles Sparks
6. Toronto Tempo
7. Portland Fire
8. Golden State Valkyries
9. Seattle Storm
10. Indiana Fever
11. New York Liberty
12. Phoenix Mercury
13. Atlanta Dream
14. Las Vegas Aces
15. Minnesota Lynx

Of course, this is the best place to keep tabs on what’s going on with the Draft today.

This is your 2026 WNBA Draft open thread.


Go Bruins!!!

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Fresh off of leading UCLA to its first-ever NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship, Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice are bringing the celebration to fans with a special Raising Cane’s “shift” in Hollywood.

Tomorrow, Betts and Rice will clock in for a celebratory “shift” at Raising Cane’s located at 6800 Sunset Blvd., serving customers Chicken Finger Meals from the front counter and Drive-Thru and sharing their championship energy with fans from 10 am to 11:15 am. Customers are encouraged to arrive early and plan to use rideshare, as parking will be limited. While this isn’t an official meet-and-greet, Raising Cane’s will select lucky customers in line to be served by Betts and Rice and they will help hype up the crowd during the celebration. Autographs will not be available.

Their “shift” marks a celebration of UCLA women’s basketball’s first NCAA title and it will turning that milestone moment into a fan-first experience at Raising Cane’s. On Sunday, the Bruins concluded an historic season which saw the team finish with a record of 37-1 season and it was capped by a dominant 79-51 win over South Carolina.

Throughout the season, Betts and Rice cemented themselves as two of the best players in the country and they are projected to be top picks in Monday’s WNBA Draft. Betts, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, anchored the Bruins with elite interior dominance, while Rice led with poise and playmaking as one of the nation’s top guards, powering the most complete championship run in UCLA women’s basketball history.

Here are all the details:

Championship “Shift” at Raising Cane’s

• Who: Kiki Rice and Lauren Betts

• When: 10:00 am to 11:15 am PT, Thursday, April 9, 2026

• Where: Raising Cane’s, 6800 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

• Parking: Parking will not be available in the limited lot on-site, please find street parking or park in a nearby lot if you need to drive.

Go Bruins!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

PHOENIX—All weekend long, I have had to stare at these banners hanging over the court here in Phoenix. They represent all of the NCAA Champions since the tournament began in 1982. UConn and South Carolina have banners, and Texas has a banner as well. There was only one name conspicuously missing.

That is no longer the case, as the UCLA Bruins can finally add their name to the list of NCAA Tournament champions, dominating from start to finish for a 79-51 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks to capture their first NCAA Championship and UCLA’s 126th title.

Right from the jump, it was apparent that the Bruins were not to be denied. UCLA jumped out to an early lead, attacking the paint with reckless abandon and forcing South Carolina into uncomfortable positions early. After the first quarter, the Bruins led 21-10, having held the Gamecocks to only 16.7% shooting in the quarter while holding a 14-11 rebounding advantage. Defense and rebounding were always going to be critical in this matchup, and the Bruins met the challenge with fervor. There was a worry with Lauren Betts, who left midway through the quarter while grabbing her throat, but afterwards she stated that she was having trouble dealing with the dry air, and would make her way back later in the half.

UCLA fans have worried all season about having one quarter where the Bruins experienced a lull, and that came in the second quarter, but even that was not up to the usual struggles this team can experience. The Bruins let South Carolina back into the game near the end of the half thanks to some increased pressure from the Gamecocks, who broke out a press and zone that flummoxed the Bruins. But in hindsight, that aggression seemed to be too little, too late. Had it come earlier in the game, South Carolina might have been able to build some real momentum, but with how late it came, UCLA was able to use the half to reset and figure out a counter.

And boy did they counter. The Bruins came out a house on fire in the second half, finally finding their traditional avalanche quarter to put some real distance between the two teams. It is one thing to outscore an opponent 25-9 in a quarter, but it is quite another to look as dominant as the team did in that quarter. UCLA shot 44.4% in the quarter, but they held South Carolina to 21.4%, only letting the Gamecocks make three baskets in total while forcing eight turnovers. On the flip side, the Bruins weren’t just efficient, but they were clean on offense as well - the Bruins only had two turnovers in the quarter, and that prevented South Carolina from getting out in transition and finding easier baskets.

There were plenty of games this season where the fourth quarter felt like a formality, but it is rare to see that happen in a national championship game. UCLA was not at its best in the fourth, but it did not need to be, as it was nursing a 29-point lead heading into the quarter. Most of the tension in the quarter was whether UCLA would push the lead out enough to make this the biggest victory in Final Four history, though the team took its foot off the gas at the end and let South Carolina get a few baskets in the final minute.

But at that point, it did not matter. Lauren Betts, who took home Final Four Most Outstanding Player after a 14-point, 11-rebound performance, was already off the court, having shared a hug with her coach. So too was Kiki Rice, the player who chose UCLA out of high school and who Close described as having a Pied Piper Effect in bringing in more talent to play for her. So too was Gabriela Jaquez, the player who grew up dreaming of wearing the Four Letters and saved her best game for last with a double-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. So too was Gianna Kneepkens, who came in as the outside shooter the program felt it lacked and made the most of the moment, hitting three of her seven three-point attempts, with each make feeling more and more like a backbreaker. Angela Dugalic, who had been instrumental off the bench all season, stayed out on the court alongside Charlisse Leger-Walker, the transfer guard whom Close called pivotal to connecting the entire team.

Even the bench made the most of the moment. Sienna Betts had perhaps her best game in weeks, meeting the moment with physicality and grabbing a number of key rebounds that extended UCLA possessions. Lena Bilic, who did not see meaningful action against Texas on Friday, was called into duty and played tough, solid basketball. Amanda Muse, who similarly did not play much in the lead-up to this game, was called upon to cover for both Betts, who was dealing with her throat, and Dugalic, who struggled with foul trouble, and she met the moment with some solid defensive possessions. It was a full team performance at the best possible moment.

For Coach Cori Close, this was vindication. There are many, myself included, who have been critical of Close for her coaching ability, not doubting her ability to connect to players, but more worried about how she would handle the moment when she could not out-talent her opponent. But it is hard to argue with the results. Coach Close continued to run the program her own way, prioritizing the mental and physical well-being of her players before everything else. She can now call herself a champion, and at the end of the day, that is all that matters.

Congratulations to the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball program on capturing national title #126!

Here are my game notes:

Pregame

• A lot of blue in the lower bowl, but the upper decks seem much more South Carolina. The non-partisan crowd feels like it is leaning towards UCLA as the underdog story going against the dynasty. I think UCLA will have the crowd advantage here, but not by an overwhelming amount.

• They had a video package prior to the teams coming out, featuring the history of the NCAA women’s tournament. Lots of Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma throughout, which was funny as every time Geno showed up, he was voraciously booed by those in attendance. Dude really decided to nuke his reputation this weekend for no real reason.

• There is an interesting undercurrent to this game, as this was the national championship matchup many expected to take place last year before UConn stormed through the tournament. UCLA has some new pieces, but there is a lot of change on the part of South Carolina from last year’s squad. I think anyone looking to last year’s regular-season matchup to take anything from it won’t find much in the way of usable information.

First Quarter

• Coach Cori Close talked about how much they struggled to get the ball to Lauren Betts on the inside, so it feels appropriate that the first offensive play ended up with Betts having the ball in the low post.

• A lot was made of South Carolina possessing the same level of physicality as Texas, but the big difference is that Texas brings that physicality the entire length of the court, while South Carolina is more of a half-court defense. That’s a huge difference for the Bruins, who struggled all game inbounding against the Texas press. They’ve been able to get into their offense much more easily as a result, and the offense is running much more smoothly as a result.

• Lena Bilic is getting some early run today, which is notable since she did not see the court against Texas until the game was well in hand. On the flip side, Sienna Betts is on the court for her first minutes, and immediately commits a foul after being late on a rotation.

• A couple of bad possessions from Kiki Rice coming out of the timeout. She gets too sticky with the ball on offense and forces a contested jumper, then gets lost in coverage and gives up an open three on the other end.

• UCLA has made the defensive decision to play off of Okot and let her shoot from range. She burned UConn on Friday, but so far is missing the mark.

• Something is wrong with Lauren Betts. She asked to get out of the game, and a trainer is looking at her. Obviously not ideal, but the rest of the team is going to need ot step up as a result.

• Gianna Kneepkens is pressing. She’s had two straight possessions where she forced a shot in the paint instead of kicking out to find something better.

• End of 1Q thoughts: Obviously, exactly what you would want from the Bruins, outside of Lauren getting hurt and missing portions of the quarter. South Carolina’s defense is not nearly as physical as Texas’s was, and there have been more foul calls in general, so the UCLA offense has been able to flow more smoothly as a result. On the defensive end, the Bruins are doing a great job of challenging shots without fouling, and while the Gamecocks have gotten a few offensive rebounds, the Bruins are doing a good job of generally controlling the boards.

Second Quarter

• Ann Meyers Drysdale was honored as part of the 1976 US Women’s Basketball Olympic Team after the 1st quarter, and took great pleasure in flashing the crowd repeatedly with her UCLA shirt underneath the Team USA polo.

• These are huge minutes for both Sienna Betts and Angela Dugalic, with Lauren out and getting attended to by the training staff. Sienna just picked up her second foul, but has generally played well, and now Lauren is back in the game.

• The best player in this game so far has been Gabriela Jaquez. South Carolina has no answer for her energy and ability to be that multi-dimensional, attacking inside while playing solid defense. If she can avoid a few ticky-tack fouls, she should continue to remain a problem.

• Amanda Muse minutes! And in the first half! These will be fascinating, though I understand the idea, as South Carolina has not been able to solve UCLA’s interior size with Betts and Dugalic.

• South Carolina came out of the media timeout in a zone that seemed to have messed with the Bruins, as they immediately committed a shot clock violation. They then go to a 2-2-1 matchup press that leads to another turnover. Great adjustment from Dawn Staley, we’ll see if the Bruins adjust.

• Kneepkens is starting to get hot, which is a great sign. She seems the least phased by this zone, calmly driving the paint, getting to her spot, and hitting her shots.

• Halftime thoughts: The game settled down in the second quarter, and the Bruins were able to extend their lead by two points, but the end of that half was a bit worrying if you’re a UCLA fan. The Bruins struggled with South Carolina’s increased pressure, and they’ll need to figure out how to deal with that at the half. But, so far, so good.

• More: UCLA’s offense has been consistently fine - not great, but you aren’t going to shake your fist in anger at a 42.9% shooting percentage - but it is their defense that is carrying the day. South Carolina wasn’t just held to 23 points, but also 25.7% shooting for the half. Now, they shot 35.3% in the second quarter, so they are starting to heat up, and can absolutely catch fire from distance (they’re only 1-8 from deep so far), but that is something the Bruins can hang their hat on going forward.

Third Quarter

• Little over a minute, and the officials have already called two fouls on South Carolina, both on Okot, who now has three fouls and needs to sit. That could be critical.

• HUGE start to the half. The Bruins are nailing their shots and crashing the glass, taking away everything South Carolina wants to do.

• 7:05 left in the third quarter, and South Carolina already has four team fouls. A huge shift from their game against UConn where Geno complained about the lack of foul calls on the Gamecocks in the third.

• South Carolina’s press is more of a matchup zone, which is a bit easier for the Bruins to break if they make the correct read. So far, so good this half.

• Lauren Betts is a PROBLEM. South Carolina does not have the size like Texas does to contain her on the interior, which is leading to easy points, and she is on fire on the defensive end. She blocks a shot that leads to a Gabriela Jaquez runout layup and a timeout by South Carolina, and the Bruins have a 22-point lead. There are a lot of stunned fans in Gamecock gear here.

• Coach Close feels comfortable enough with the lead that she’s stealing some minutes with Bilic and Sienna. It’s a good strategy to keep the starting core rested for the stretch run, especially with Dugalic having three fouls. And it can’t be any worse than watching Kiki Rice continue trying to do too much.

• UCLA’s depth is about to be tested - Angela Dugalic just picked up her fourth foul with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter. Close was making an interesting bet while up big, and it backfired on her. I think UCLA could have risked more minutes with Sienna or Bilic out on the court, but we’ll see.

• Right on cue, Sienna gets a critical offensive rebound, kicks out to her sister, who finds an open Kneepkens for a three to push the lead to 25. And then Amanda Muse comes in and makes a tremendous defensive play, if you’re wondering what kind of day this has been.

• End of 3Q thoughts: All season long, UCLA has had these quarters where they just avalanche an opponent. It hasn’t happened much in the NCAA Tournament, but we just witnessed it in this third quarter. Competitive greatness is on full display, as the Bruins are meeting the moment and putting the Gamecocks in a blender on both ends. Of note: South Carolina beat UConn in large part because it controlled the glass, but UCLA has been hyper-focused on that end.

Fourth Quarter

• Is it bad that my first thought is how am I going to get close to the court for the postgame celebrations?

• Even as a UCLA writer, it is frankly shocking that we are in the fourth quarter of the national championship game, and both teams are playing out the string because the game is essentially over. Like, yes, there is still a chance South Carolina can come back, but the Bruins outscored the Gamecocks 25-7 last quarter, and they’re still getting easy looks at the basket now.

• Ok, found a storyline to watch here in the fourth: Last year, the Bruins made infamous history with the largest loss in Final Four history by losing by 34 to UConn. Can they take their name off the top spot with this last quarter?

• Dawn Staley said yesterday their plan was to try to wear Lauren down and get her out of the game with their pace. Well, the early throat injury seems to have kept Lauren fresh, as she just ran down the court past everyone for a transition layup.

• I think Lauren and Kiki are done. Coach Close just subbed them out and gave them both a big hug as they came off.

• Gabriela Jaquez’s three-point shooting went away for most of Big Ten play. Well, she hit two tonight to push the lead out to 34. She wrapped up the MVP vote from me right there.

• Final thoughts: Confetti is pretty cool, you guys.

Go Bruins! National Champions!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

PHOENIX—This is the game we’ve all been waiting for. It’s one final opportunity for this year’s UCLA women’s basketball team to go 1-0. It’s the final game of the women’s college basketball season. The winners go home with the trophy. The losers go home wishing the game had gone differently.

For these Bruins, they are already champs. It’s been a season full of superlatives. Best UCLA women’s basketball record ever. Most wins in a season for any UCLA women’s hoops team ever. Longest UCLA women’s basketball winning streak. As of Friday night, they also have the longest current winning streak in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. Big Ten regular season champs. Big Ten Tournament champs. Undefeated conference schedule.

And those are just what these women have accomplished together as a team. It makes no mention at all of what they’ve accomplished individually. That doesn’t matter to these ladies. They truly do not care about individual achievement.

They only thing that matters is what they accomplish collectively.

Win or lose today, this team has earned its place in the lore that is UCLA basketball. The final score of today’s game will likely be forgotten if they lose to the Gamecocks.

Yet if they win, these Bruins will add to that already impressive résumé. They will add the accomplishment only 125 other UCLA teams have enjoyed: NCAA Champions.

South Carolina Gamecocks’ Starting Five

South Carolina is coached by Dawn Staley, who is in her 18th season coaching the Gamecocks and her 26th season as a head coach overall. She won her first national championship in 2016-17, and she has won two more since then. She will start a lineup with three guards, a forward and a center.

The Gamecocks are led by sophomore forward Joyce Edwards. She leads South Carolina with 19.5 ppg and with 71 steals. She is second on the team in rebounds with 6.7 rpg and in blocks with 44.

Senior transfer center Madina Okot is one of the tallest players on the South Carolina roster. She is listed as 6’6” tall, which means she may able to keep up with UCLA center Lauren Betts. Only 6’7 freshman forward Alicia Tournebize is taller. Okot is averaging 13.0 ppg, and she leads the team in rebounds with 10.8 rpg, in blocks with 55, and in three-point percentage with 48.1%.. Thankfully, she has only tried 27 threes all season.

Senior guard Ta'Niya Latson transferred to South Carolina after playing for Florida the past three years. Her 14.4 ppg is good for second on the team. She is second on the team in assists with 123 and third on the team in steals with 58.

While the final two starters are both named Johnson, they are not related. Junior Tessa Johnson averages 12.8 ppg and she is a deadly three-point shooter. Her 199 three-point attempts is more than the next two players combined and her 45.2% three-point percentage is the second highest on the team behind Okot.

Senior Raven Johnson averages 10.0 ppg, and her 41.4 three-point percentage isn’t quite as good as Tessa Johnson’s. Raven’s 202 assists is the best on the team and her 59 steals is second behind Edwards.

Freshman guard Agot Makeer will likely be the first player off the bench for Staley. She is averaging 7.2 ppg. Staley typically plays an eight-player rotation with sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel and senior forward Maryam Dauda being the other two players who are most likely to see playing time. They are averaging 4.4 ppg and 2.8 ppg, respectively.

Outlook

Today’s game is going to be another tough one. It should be. These teams are playing for the national championship after all.

Will it be another knockdown, drag-out, low-scoring fight like Friday night? I don’t think so.

While South Carolina is a 3.5-point favorite, just like on Friday, today’s game will hinge on the Bruins’ ability to start fast and take control of the game. If UCLA can take a four-point lead early, they should be able to win the game. These Bruins have’t blown a lead once all season, and there is no reason they will start doing that today in the biggest game of the season.

If they can’t get that lead early, it will become more difficult, but still not impossible.

The Bruins have been on a mission all season, and that goal is finally within reach. They just need to go 1-0 one more time.

Listen to the Game With TMB

Today’s game will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on WatchESPN.com with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe on the call. The postgame celebration will air on ESPN and stream on WatchESPN.com. Of course, you can choose to listen to Dave Marcus call the game for the Bruins by listening online or you can opt for the Westwood One national feed on satellite radio. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.

This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. South Carolina Gamecocks NCAA Women’s National Championship game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:

NCAA Women’s National Championship Game

• Opponents: #1 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (35-1) vs. #1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks (35-3)

• Series Record: South Carolina leads, 4-2

• When: 12:30 pm PT, Sunday, April 5, 2026

• Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ

• TV: ABC with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe

• Live Stream:

  Game: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

  Postgame: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

• Radio/Audio:
  Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 84 with Ryan Radtke, Debbie Antonelli and Ros Gold-Onwude (Westwood One)
  Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus

• Live Stats: NCAA Game Center

• Tournament Notes:
  UCLA

  South Carolina
  

Go Bruins!!! Beat (the other) SC!!! Bring home NC #126!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

PHOENIX—“I try not to even think about that because it makes me sad,” Lauren Betts said at her press conference yesterday about today’s final game with Kiki Rice. “I'm trying to stay positive and focus on this next game.”

As hard as Betts is trying not to think about it, sometime around 3 pm PT this afternoon, the 2025-26 NCAA women’s college basketball season will come to an end when either South Carolina or UCLA wins the national championship.

When that happens, the Bruins’ season of joy will come to an end.

The UCLA women’s basketball team may still be dancing together, but the Big Dance will be over.

And with it, the legacy this team leaves behind will be written.

It’s really written itself all season long.

The previous thirty times before today, this team has put increased the number in the left column to go along with the six times they won before they lost the only game they have lost so far.

Can they add one more to that left column today?

That will likely come down to the team’s ability to execute the coaches’ game plan, but that won’t be all.

All season long, head coach Cori Close has spoken about her players having a growth mindset. You might think that, the day before the national championship game, the only left for these players to do is execute the game plan to the best of their ability.

You would be wrong.

When I asked Coach Close yesterday whether there’s still room for growth or if today’s game is more of a matter of execution, she replied, “Both.”

Unlike Betts, it wasn’t a deliberate attempt to avoid the finality of this afternoon’s game.

Close explained:

“I think you have to [do both]. You have to let each experience, each scouting report, each interaction teach you. That’s how we built it. It’s just a choice to intentionally grow every single time, every single timeout, every single opportunity. It’s one of our core values.”

“I don’t think that ever stops. And we have to execute. We have to execute at a really high level.”

“I think every game is going to present adversity and opportunities to pivot. We decided to change how we played ball screen coverage in a way that we didn’t prepare for at all in the second half, in the fourth quarter of that game, when they were bringing their five up to go and ball screen action with Rori Harmon. The game required us to make a pivot, to change strategies.”

“I just think there has to be a balance of both: how are we growing, how are we adjusting, how do we strategize to have the best execution we possibly can.”

Always the teacher. Just like Coach Wooden.

The similarities, of course, don’t end there. Close may be the…well…closest thing UCLA has had to Coach Wooden since Coach Wooden. Of course, she has taken his teachings and adapted them for the current era of college sports, which has seen women’s basketball grow exponentially, proving that his teachings are just as relevant today as they were more than 50 years ago when he led the Bruins to those ten NCAA championships.

Let’s take a quick detour for some video from yesterday’s press conferences. Both videos are courtesy of @UCLAAthletics on YouTube.

First up is Lauren Betts. In her lengthy interview which lasted nearly 30 minutes, among the things she discusses are the injury she suffered on Friday and her favorite UCLA class.

Then, we have Coach Close’s interview as well. She discussed a broad range of topics from Tasha Brown (aka “Coach T.”) to South Carolina to the Transfer Portal and other topics.

Now, just because the Bruins’ season of joy will end today, it doesn’t mean these Bruins are ready to stop dancing yet.

Yesterday, on the day off in between the national semifinals and today’s championship game, the NCAA hosted “Super Saturday” where both teams playing this afternoon held a practice session after the interviews with Lauren and Coach Close, and it was open to the public and free to attend.

What a great way to promote the women’s game!

But this “practice” seemed more like a public “thank you” for the fans which showed up. While there was no attendance announcement, the lower bowl of the Mortgage Matchup Center was full of fans. There was one fan who especially stood out because he looked like a fish out of water due to his attire. Of course, he was wearing a “Fight On!” t-shirt. I don’ t know if anyone explained to him that UCLA is playing the other SC for the title and not the Trojans.

When the Bruins took to the court, Betts was mic’d up as she stretched. The players split up at the two baskets so that no one was all that far from one of their favorite Bruins. It never really looked like a true practice session, and a few inclusions made sure of that.

The Bruins showed off their dribbling by sorting into two lines with two balls for each player. They then did a team dance to DJ Casper’s Cha-Cha Slide commonly heard at weddings, all as each player kept dribbling both balls.

Of course, it wasn’t the only dancing yesterday.

As the session was nearing an end, Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and Charlisse Leger-Walker gathered near mid-court with the Bruin Spirit Squad to give the fans in attendance the opportunity to see the now-viral dance routine in public.

The session ended with the Bruin players, and even Cori Close, signing autographs for fans in attendance. It resembled one of the autograph sessions Bruin fans are familiar seeing from the football team at the Spring Game with the players signing everything from balls to jerseys to handwritten signs.

The entire time, the players were loving the opportunity to interact with the fans. The joy could be seen on each of their faces as they signed autographs and spoke with fans who had taken the time to show up on a holiday weekend. In fact, the session could serve as a blueprint for a Pauley celebration of this team after they return home to LA.

As the clock struck 3 pm, the team left the court, and their final 24 hours of this season began.


Go Bruins!!! Beat (the other) SC!!! Bring home NC #126!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

In the end, it was always going to come down to Lauren Betts.

The senior post has constantly answered the bell for the UCLA Bruins these past few years, raising her game and making winning plays time and again whenever the Bruins needed her. It should have come as no surprise, then, that when the Bruins found themselves floundering late and needed a play to right the ship, it was Betts who came up big.

Texas had the ball down three with less than 30 seconds left, and star forward Madison Booker saw an opportunity to drive to the basket and get a quick layup to cut the lead to one. The thought process was sound - UCLA had struggled to inbound the ball, and with only one timeout remaining, the Longhorn forward had to like her team’s chances at stealing the game.

There was just one problem: Lauren Betts was still on the court.

You could see from the opening tip-off that Lauren was not going to be denied tonight. Where the rest of her team had smiles on their faces, Lauren had just a scowl, and the senior was perhaps at the most vocal she has been in her UCLA career, providing the Bruins with a sense of urgency all on her own. Of course, with the game on the line and Booker driving the paint, it would be Betts who would once again make the play her team needed, blocking the shot and securing the rebound, allowing the Bruins to regain their composure and ice the game out en route to a 51-44 victory and the first appearance in the NCAA National Championship Game in program history.

Make no mistake, this was not a pretty game to watch. Coach Cori Close repeatedly referred to it as rugby, and I can’t say that description was inaccurate. The officials, perhaps having watched the previous game between UConn and South Carolina and deciding they would try to one-up their colleagues, allowed an excessive amount of physicality to take place between the two teams, which was exactly the style of game that Texas wanted to play, but interestingly enough, also worked to UCLA’s advantage, in that it allowed UCLA’s perimeter players to play with much more physicality at the point of attack. This was especially true of Madison Booker, who was constantly forced into uncomfortable positions and held to an abysmal 3-23 shooting night. The Bruins similarly did a great job against senior guard Rori Harmon (who Texas coach Vic Schaefer reminded the media after the game was one of the best players in the nation who gets no recognition), forcing her to make some tough shots.

The UCLA defense was mostly outstanding, holding the Longhorns to only 30.8% shooting on the night. The defense was not perfect - in particular, Texas found a lot of success crashing the glass after the first quarter and finished with 17 offensive rebounds - but even when the Longhorns got a chance for second-chance points, they were unable to capitalize thanks to a strong defensive effort. Credit to UCLA’s guards, especially Gabriela Jaquez, for rising to the occasion and meeting the moment defensively.

That said, this game was close because UCLA could not get out of its own way on offense. The Bruins finished with an eye-popping 23 turnovers, and unlike in the win over Duke in the Elite Eight, this was an entire-game problem. Yes, Texas was physical, even excessively so, but the only consistent thing about UCLA on offense was that they were going to be careless with the ball. UCLA’s lead guard triumvirate of Kiki Rice, Charlisse Leger-Walker, and Gabriela Jaquez was particularly brutal in this regard. Jaquez led the team with six turnovers, while Rice and Leger-Walker had four each, and so often the Bruins found themselves committing a sloppy turnover thanks to that group. This team has been better about taking care of the ball, but for the second straight game, they failed to meet the moment in that regard.

Credit to Texas for also making things difficult for UCLA. While Lauren Betts led the team with 16 points, she went for long stretches of the game without touching the ball in the post, which is a bread-and-butter play for the offense. Kyla Oldacre was able to use her size to push Betts further out on the catch, and there was a collective team effort from the Longhorns to deny the entry passes that are so crucial to UCLA’s offensive identity.

Speaking of things Texas deserves credit for: that press. Wow. Texas is one of the best pressing teams in the country, but watching the game, you’d have thought that UCLA had never faced a press before in their lives, let alone this exact same press back in November. The Bruins struggled just to inbound the ball, looking confused as to how to create easy inbound passes, and tried every trick in the book to create open looks to no avail. Early on, the Bruins used Lauren and her size to create an easy entry pass, but Texas soon adjusted to take that away, and at that point, the adventure was on. It was that degree of helplessness that made Booker’s late drive the correct decision.

But again, UCLA had Lauren Betts, and Texas didn’t, and that proved to be the difference.

Here are my game notes:

Pregame Notes, UConn vs South Carolina

• I figure since I’m sitting up here watching this game, might as well jot a few things down.

• First off, there is one major thing that stands out to me about both UConn and South Carolina’s lineups: there are only five seniors between the two squads. Yes, UConn will lose Azzi Fudd after this season, and South Carolina will lose Raven Johnson, but these two programs are still set up for success in the future. UCLA….not so much. The top six minutes earners are all gone after this season, so for the Bruins, there is a sense of program urgency that the other three teams don’t necessarily have.

• There’s a lot you can take away from this first game, but the physicality of both teams has been a highlight. The offenses are struggling for sure, but this isn’t a case of tight rims or anything like that. Rather, both teams are being forced into some really awkward shots and are really struggling to generate open looks.

• I was fascinated by who would have the first “uh oh” moment of the game, by which I mean which team would feel itself falling behind first, and the answer was UConn. The Huskies have simply not adapted well to their opponent’s physicality. Sarah Strong has had to labor for her points, while Azzi Fudd has been a no-show. Their defense, however, is giving them a chance to get hot from deep here late in the 3rd.

• South Carolina is going to give UCLA some issues if they win tonight. They’re very long and athletic, and while they aren’t going to beat the Bruins from the outside, they don’t necessarily need to. I think UCLA is the least athletic team here in the Final Four, so I’ll be interested to see how much that truly matters.

• UConn lost because its stars wilted under the bright lights (Strong 12 points on 4-16 shooting, Fudd eight points on 3-15 shooting), but the Gamecocks were simply the more physical team and dominated the Huskies on the boards. Something to monitor.

• Unsurprisingly, the arena has emptied out pretty considerably following the UConn/South Carolina game. Still, a good amount of UCLA and Texas fans are here, but maybe let folks come down from the upper levels and fill in the lower bowl.

First Quarter

• UCLA is looking to get Gianna Kneepkens going early, and with good reason - the transfer has struggled shooting in the tournament, and the Bruins desperately need an outside threat to open things up on the interior. Also interesting: Lauren Betts’s first shot was from the Thomas Welsh Memorial 10-Foot Baseline spot, which she sank. Good sign.

• Good initial start for the Bruins at the first media timeout. The Bruins are actively contesting everything on the defensive end, which isn’t easy to do given how good Vic Schaefer’s offense is at generating open looks. The offense hasn’t really gone inside much yet, but I think that’s fine if the Bruins keep penetrating as well as they are so far.

• Early reffing note: the refs have carried over some things from last game and are letting a lot of physicality go. While that might benefit the Longhorns on the interior, I think this is ultimately to UCLA’s advantage, as it means their guards can play much more physically at the point of attack and limit drives, which is a huge part of the Texas offense.

• Another good early trend: UCLA is positively cleaning up the boards. Texas isn’t getting an opportunity for offensive rebounds and second-chance points, and on a team that loves to score around the rim and lacks consistent shooters, that’s huge.

• Here comes Sienna’s first minutes. Again, these will be critical just to give her sister a breather.

• UCLA has things going early. Dugalic hits her first three, then makes a beautiful pass to a cutting Gabriela Jaquez on the backdoor to give UCLA a 10-point lead and force a Texas timeout.

• Kiki Rice, I swear…

• End of 1Q thoughts: The timeout by Schaefer seemed to settle Texas down a bit, but the Bruins really came out focused to start this game. The big question will be how they keep the momentum going throughout and avoid their typical lulls, especially after ending the quarter with no points and three turnovers in the final 2:10.

Second Quarter

• UCLA is going to need to come up with a new strategy to break the Texas press. Only having two back (with one being Betts) isn’t the worst strategy, but the Bruins would benefit from having another ballhandler back there.

• GREAT boxout by Kneepkens to force a travel. She hasn’t lit up the scoreboard so far, but she’s doing all of the little things correctly.

• Schaefer is going to go for an early challenge here. Our view from up top isn’t very helpful for figuring out if the call was correct or not, but the bigger issue is that the Bruins are struggling to go inside to Betts. Texas is being physical in moving Lauren off her spot, and when they go over the top, the passes have not been on the mark. UCLA is going to need to make some sort of adjustment to get its star more involved.

• UCLA’s defense: stellar. UCLA’s offense: merely ok, with the Bruins possessing more turnovers than made shots so far. A bit of a Duke redux to start.

• Way too many mistakes for the Bruins, which has let Texas back into the game. We’ve mentioned it before, but the Bruins cannot afford to be this sloppy with the ball. In particular, the Bruins keep picking up the ball and holding it on the outside, which is letting Texas get up close and put more pressure on them. Can’t do that, especially if the refs are going to let physical play go.

• Halftime thoughts: UCLA’s defense has created a major advantage for them, but at some point, the Bruins have to get over the physicality of Texas and meet the moment. The Bruins had 12 turnovers in the half (seven in the second quarter), and they are letting the Longhorns dictate the game. In particular, you’d want to see the team go inside to Lauren more often and force the issue, but she’s barely getting touches thanks to poor play on the perimeter.

• One major positive: the Bruins have limited Texas star Madison Booker to just two points on an abysmal 1-12 shooting (0-3 from three). You have to assume she’ll hit some in the second half, but the Bruins are clearly determined not to let her beat them.

• One last thought: if the last game is any indication, I expect there to be way more fouls called this half.

Third Quarter

• Right on cue, Texas gets called for a foul when Betts went to post up.

• We also get our first free throws of the game! Look at nature healing.

• Uh oh, a major collision on a loose ball leaves Lauren Betts on the ground for a hot minute. She eventually gets back up, but that isn’t great (they’re going to review for a flagrant, which feels unlikely given how the play went, but may be just to give Lauren time to recover).

• UCLA finally got Lauren a touch on the low block, and she easily converted it, but Oldacre is becoming a problem. She’s too big for Lauren to just back down, and if she holds on to the ball too long, the Texas defense collapses on her.

• These might be the most crucial Sienna minutes of the season. Getting Lauren as much rest as possible right here will allow her to play all of the 4th quarter. She immediately helps force a shot clock violation, which is a good start.

• Again, UCLA needs to figure out how to inbound the ball. They almost get a five-second violation before a late timeout call, but that cannot be happening at this point in the game.

• End of 3Q thoughts: UCLA is winning this game on sheer talent. The coaching has not been there, and it’s letting Texas hang around. The Bruins look lost trying to inbound the ball, are struggling to get the ball to the best player on the court, and keep making careless mistakes. They will need to dig deep and find something here in this fourth quarter, because it feels like the Longhorns have found something that is working.

Fourth Quarter

• Welcome to Winning Time. Let’s see what this team is made of.

• Angela Dugalic bounced the ball off the backboard, and it somehow landed in Betts’s hands. Also, I have no idea why Vic Shaefer keeps playing Cunningham when Oldacre has been so much better.

• A Texas player literally landed on Lauren Betts’s back with no foul call. Luckily, Betts had the wherewithal to kick the ball out to Kiki Rice, who finally made a positive impact by nailing a three-pointer. On the next possession, Leger-Walker made a great defensive play to force a steal and kick ahead to a streaking Jaquez for the layup. Suddenly, the Bruins have some breathing room with 8:30 left.

• Ok, Texas has been good with their challenges in this game, but this one feels desperate. The ball clearly went off the back of Oldacre, and now the Bruins get a free timeout to scheme up a shot with four seconds remaining on the shot clock. (Or I don’t know anything, and the ball goes to Texas again).

• Ball don’t lie.

• That was Madison Booker’s second made basket of the game, and it came with 5:50 remaining. The Bruins have continued to do a tremendous job against her.

• That was a huge three that Kneepkens got to drop. UCLA probably doesn’t want to trade baskets down the stretch, but if they can keep getting shots like that, it might not matter.

• Counterpoint: UCLA still can’t inbound the ball, and Texas is back in the game.

• UCLA is really going to let Texas back into this game because they can’t take care of the ball. The Bruins have not scored in the last 2:13 of game time. Just some really bad basketball down the stretch when they needed to ice the game.

• When UCLA needed it most, Lauren Betts reminded everyone that she is the best player on the court. Madison Booker drove down the lane, and Betts blocked it, grabbing the rebound and forcing a foul. Unfortunately, they do still need to inbound the ball because Texas is not in the bonus yet, so there is still plenty of time.

• They’re going to go to Kiki Rice to try and hit some free throws to ice the game. Rice has had a miserable game, but she has been the team’s closer in the few tight games they’ve had. If she can hit at least one free throw, you’d feel a bit better about this.

• Game on the line, Bruins force Kyla Oldacre to hit a jumper…and she instead hits the side of the backboard. That should do it.

• Final thoughts: A lot of mistakes, no doubt, but competitive greatness is giving your best when your best is required of you, and UCLA certainly got that to start the fourth, building a lead that they would maintain all the way to the finish. Credit to the team for finding a way, but they’ll need to be cleaner on Sunday to put a banner up in the rafters.

The championship game will take place on Sunday, April 5th, with tip-off set for 12:30 PM PT.

Go Bruins!!! Bring Home NC #126!!!

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PHOENIX — Tonight, there are two women’s basketball games. The first game tips off at 4 pm PT when the UConn Huskies square off against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Then, at 6:30 pm PT (or about 25 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1), the UCLA Bruins will play the Texas Longhorns. Both games will be televised on ESPN and will be streamed on WatchESPN.com.

For the Bruins, it’s all about the joy of getting to play one more game with each other. At the same time, it’s about also about executing their game plan and the scout from the initial tip.

The Longhorns are coached by Vic Shaefer. Shaefer is a fierce competitor and this is his fourth Final Four appearance. He took Mississippi State to the title game twice, once in 2016-17 and again in 2017-18. Since taking the Texas job, his teams have made the Elite Eight three times and the Final Four now twice. Only once have the Longhorns bowed out in the Second Round under him. He has an .821 winning percentage at Texas. So, the Longhorns are just going to roll over for the Bruins.

Let’s look at Shaefer’s starting lineup.

Texas Longhorns’ Starting Five

Overall, Shaefer will likely start a lineup with three forwards and two guards. Texas will field a starting lineup which may be even better than the one they started against UCLA in November. To be sure, four of the five players who started against the Bruins will likely start tonight, but look out for one change.

In November, Shaefer started senior forward Taya Sidberry, but against Michigan on Monday, he had sophomore Justice Carlton on the floor instead. Against the Wolverines, Carlton put up 15 points and she was one of four Texas players with seven rebounds, but that seems like a bit of an outlier, statistically speaking. Overall, Carlton is averaging just 8.5 ppg and she is fourth on the team in reebounds with an average of 4.0 rpg.

Junior Madison Booker leads the Longhorns in scoring with an average of 19.3 ppg. To make matters worse, she is averaging 22.3 ppg so far in the tournament. She also leads the team in rebounds with an average of 6.7 rpg. She has also rebounded even better of late. She is grabbing 8.8 rpg in the tournament. She is also second on the team in both assists with 144 and steals with 85. While her 77 three-point attempts is also second on the team, she is making just 29.9% of them. So, she really isn’t a threat from outside.

The final starting forward is junior Breya Cunningham. She’s averaging just 7.9 ppg and she is third on the team in rebounds with an average of 5.6 rpg. The one thing UCLA will not have to worry about with Cunningham is the long-range shot. She hasn’t tried a three all season.

The Longhorns’ top guard is sophomore Jordan Lee. For the season, she’s averaging 13.3 ppg, and she’s averaging 14.5 ppg in the tournament so far. Lee’s 206 three-point tries is more than the next four players on the team combined, and she is making 34.5% of those tries.

The other starting guard will be graduate guard Rori Harmon. Harmon leads Texas in assists with 241. Given that is almost equal to her shot attempts, it’s almost a 50-50 chance she will pass instead of shoot, which is good considering that she is averaging just 8.4 ppg.

The Longhorn who may pose the most trouble for Lauren Betts is 6’6” senior center Kyla Oldacre. Of course, Oldacre is the Longhorn who stirred the pot a bit when she said she told Lauren Betts not to cry to the refs. Betts didn’t miss a beat and told her not to be pinching.

Oldacre will be the first player UCLA will face who will be nearly as tall as Betts. Despite starting just two games all season, Oldacre averages 10.4 ppg for Texas. She is second on the team in rebounds with an average of 6.2 rpg. Naturally, Oldacre leads Texas in blocks with 44 this season. Look for Oldacre to be the first one off the Longhorn bench.

While Shaefer played ten players against Michigan, two of them played two minutes or less. So, expect him to play a seven or eight woman rotation. Beyond Oldacre, I would expect to see Sidberry as well as Aaliyah Crump and Breana Preston. While neither played against UCLA last time, neither contributed much to the Longhorns’ win over the Wolverines

Outlook

Based on what the players and coaches were saying yesterday, UCLA seems to be locked in and they know what they have to do. Put simply, they need to come out strong from the start.

Most of the time this season, the Bruins have put opponents away in the first few minutes of the game.

Too many times this postseason, UCLA has started slowly. It happened against CBU and it happened again against Duke on Sunday. Of course, the Duke game was just the second time all season that the Bruins faced a deficit at halftime.

Of course, the other time came against Texas.

After starting slowly against CBU, the team responded by coming out strong against Oklahoma State and, literally, putting the game out of reach in the first few minutes. Once UCLA had a 4-0 lead, I knew that game was over.

I might not say that tonight if the Bruins jump out to a 4-0 lead, but it won’t take long if they come out strong enough to take a six- or an eight-point lead.

What absolutely cannot happen is what happened when they met Texas in November.

In that game, the Longhorns jumped out to a 20-10 lead by the end of the first quarter, and they double their lead in the second before heading into the locker room up, 45-25. While Lauren Betts played 37 minutes in the game, she was held to just eight points, and she suffered an injury to her left arm/shoulder from a collision with Madison Booker. While she returned to the game against the Longhorns, she ended missing the Duke game the next day.

With that on the macro level and Oldacre’s pinching on the micro level, Betts and the Bruins have a score to settle tonight, and I fully expect them to prove the November game was a fluke.

Listen to the Game With TMB

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on WatchESPN.com with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe on the call. Of course, you can choose to listen to Dave Marcus call the game for the Bruins by listening online or you can opt for the Westwood One national feed on satellite radio. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.

This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. Texas Longhorns NCAA Women’s Final Four game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:

NCAA Women’s Final Four National Semifinal

• Opponents: #1 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (35-1) vs. #1 seed Texas Longhorns (35-3)

• Series Record: Texas leads, 8-7

• When: 6:30 pm PT, Friday, April 3, 2026

• Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ

• TV: ESPN with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe

• Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

• Radio/Audio:
  Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 84 with Ryan Radtke, Debbie Antonelli and Ros Gold-Onwude (Westwood One)
  Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus

• Live Stats: NCAA Game Center

• Tournament Notes:
  UCLA

  Texas
  

Go Bruins!!! Beat Texas!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

PHOENIX — All season long, the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball team has been different. Coming off one of, if not the, most successful season in team history, this year’s team has seemed focused on playing their best basketball when their best basketball is needed.

Of course, the top block of the Wooden Pyramid of Success is Competitive Greatness. After last Sunday’s win over Duke, I asked UCLA coach Cori Close if this year’s team needs to go 1-0 twice this weekend. Coach Close responded:

“Absolutely not. Of course, that’s what we want to do and that’s our focus in terms of how we want to master our craft and how we want to compete to the level of excellence. But I will never let a 40-minute game define the growth, experience and who they have become and who they have impacted.”

“I also think that it creates a pressure that doesn’t allow them to play their best. I think they have accomplished everything they need to. This is about making that next step. This is about trying to master their craft, trying to be an elite teammate.”

“If they can look themselves in the mirror and go, I have done everything under my control to master my craft and I have chosen to be an elite teammate, I want them to go compete with freedom and joy and know that they have done the most important things already.”

The fact remains, however, that this team is on the cusp of accomplishing something no other UCLA women’s basketball team has accomplished: winning a national championship.

As I walked around the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix today, I noticed that the NCAA has hung banners in the building for every women’s basketball team which has won an NCAA championship.

Among them are banners for UConn, of course, as well as Texas and South Carolina. Southern Cal even has a banner hanging, unfortunately.

The Bruins are the only team here this weekend which has not climbed that mountain.

Today, Coach Close admitted that, last season, “I did a crappy job as a leader.” She explained more, saying:

“The moment we touched down, I was in transfer portal. Not a great situation.

“One of my biggest regrets of last spring is I didn’t celebrate them enough. I didn’t find ways to go, This team was the most, at that point, successful team since 1978/’ 79. I let myself get wrapped up in everything that was transpiring in the portal. I don’t think I did a good enough job in that way.”

“[The] good news is they’re very mature and they have a really good sense of what our culture is, what we expect. Actually when the dust settled and we got back together, we were able to self-reflect and we were able to realize that we were building off of something really good, that there was a lot to celebrate but also a lot to build from.”

“I do think then, at that point, we were able to do a really good job of saying ‘Hey, look at what position we’re in now.’ We can actually use that as such a great teacher for where we want to go this year. I really did think it ended up serving us really well.”

It certainly has.

All season long, the players and Coach Close have spoken about growth and “playing to the standard” they have set for themselves. It has sounded like they have been moving towards one singular goal, and it’s been a goal that, until this week, hasn’t really been said out loud.

To be sure, on numerous occasions, they’ve talked about wanting to go 1-0 when they play their next game. And, they have done that 35 times this season. They have done that 29 times in a row. Not only is that the second longest current streak in women’s college basketball, it’s the longest winning streak in UCLA women’s basketball history.

Even if they lose tomorrow, this team will have finished the season with more wins and a higher winning percentage than any women’s basketball team in UCLA history.

To go 1-0 tomorrow would mean extending the longest winning in school history to 30 games and adding another win to the highest win total in school history.

But, this team is different.

None of that means a thing to these ladies.

For them, it really is about going 1-0 tomorrow so they can experience the joy of playing with one another again on Sunday, and they know they have to play with a sense of urgency.

Lauren Betts explained, “I think in the back of our heads, we all know that this is our last go at this. It’s all or nothing for all of us.”

She continued:

I think throughout the season, we’ve also learned that we just want to enjoy the journey with all of us together. We don’t want to worry so much about what ifs, the end. We just really want to focus on just the joy and the fun that we have.

We’ve gotten so close throughout the season. I think when we do play, especially around this time, you can see throughout March Madness, we come out with a certain level of urgency because it is our last year.

I think tomorrow we’re going to come out with that same level of urgency from the very beginning.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Jaquez summed it up by saying, “Yeah, we're just fighting for more days with each other at the end of the day.”

Tomorrow night, they will be fighting to play with each other for two days.

The only thing standing in their way is the Texas Longhorns, who handed the Bruins their only loss since UCLA lost to UConn in the Final Four last season. In that game, Texas led 45-25 at halftime before going on to win by 11, 76-65. It was the only game other than Sunday’s win against Duke in which the Bruins trailed at halftime.

One of the keys for the Bruins tomorrow will need to be a fast start. Betts spoke about starting strong. “I think just coming out with a certain level of aggression is going to be really important,” she said. “I'm going to make sure I do that from the very beginning.”

Jaquez might have summed it up best. “It's another basketball game to play together. Just do what we've been doing all season.”

If they do what they’ve been doing for the past 29 games, they will probably find themselves playing one more game together on Sunday.

Here’s the complete video of today’s press conference, courtesy of NCAA March Madness on YouTube.

Go Bruins!!! Beat Texas!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

At halftime, the UCLA Bruins found themselves in an unfamiliar position.

For only the second time this season, UCLA found itself trailing, and its 39-31 deficit belied just how thoroughly the Bruins had been outplayed in the half. From almost the opening tip, the Duke Blue Devils had been the aggressors, playing with a sense of purpose and urgency that was not present on the UCLA bench. Duke looked like a team playing with all the confidence in the world, recognizing what UCLA wanted to do on both ends of the court and coming up with the perfect counters. The Bruins were out of sorts, committing 12 turnovers and devolving into their worst offensive tendencies. It was, as they say, a disaster, and history was not on their side; the last time the Bruins entered the half trailing this season was during their lone loss of the year against Texas.

But the Bruins had experience of their own, and when you’ve won 34 games on the season (28 of them since the loss to Texas), that is going to give you plenty of experience to fall back on. We’ve talked about this UCLA squad as having championship aspirations, and what we saw in the second half was a championship-level performance from the Bruins, as UCLA came out with exceptional determination and focus en route to a 70-58 victory, advancing to their second straight national championship.

UCLA was able to climb back into the game thanks to two factors: its defense and protecting the ball better. In the first half, Duke was able to get whatever it wanted on the offensive end, shooting 53.1% from the field and hitting a variety of open shots. The Bruins opted to put Lauren Betts in drop coverage, hedging against the driving capability of Duke guard Taina Mair, but by dropping back, it created easy looks for Mair from the elbow. Then, when UCLA adjusted by having Lauren come up on the switch more, the guards were slow in rotating, leading to easy baskets. UCLA had the advantage on the interior as expected, but Duke was able to keep pace on points in the paint, scoring 24 points compared to 28 for the Bruins. And on offense, the Bruins struggled to hold on to the ball, finishing the half with 12 turnovers and allowing Duke to get a load of easy baskets in transition.

Things changed in the second half. Duke finished with a full game shooting total of 38.7%, in large part because the Blue Devils were held to 23.3% in the second half. UCLA challenged everything that Duke wanted to do on the offensive end, from challenging the Blue Devils at the rim (Duke only had eight points in the paint in the second half) to pushing out to the perimeter, forcing the Blue Devils into longer and longer shots as they tried to keep pace with the relentless UCLA attack. The Bruins were much more aggressive as well, grabbing five steals in the second half after only registering one in the first.

On the flip side, the offense finally settled down, in large part because the players stopped turning the ball over. The Bruins only had six turnovers in the second half, in large part because the team stopped forcing bad passes and were more patient with the ball. They still had some bad offensive moments, particularly whenever Kiki Rice decided to do too much with the ball, but nine assists on 15 made baskets speak to a good amount of selflessness.

And even when they missed, the Bruins were likely scoring, thanks to the twin hydra of Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic. Both senior bigs were sensational, with Lauren putting on her cape en route to a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds; 15 points and eight of those rebounds came in the second half. Dugalic was equally impressive, scoring nine of her 15 points in the second half to go along with six rebounds. The two players combined for 24 of UCLA’s 39 second-half points, and carried the load for an offense that was stuck in neutral for much of it.

Were things perfect? Absolutely not. As I mentioned, Kiki Rice in particular had a game that I’m sure she would like to forget, finishing with seven points on 2-10 shooting, and while she only had one official turnover, you could very easily put the blame for all three shot-clock violations on her. Charlisse Leger-Walker, one game after a wildly efficient performance, finished with three turnovers and was a bit too loose with her passing. Gianna Kneepkens had a Sacramento regional to forget, looking like her shooting form was off, while Gabriela Jaquez had an average game by her standards. Sienna Betts was the only other player who saw the court, and while she scored four points, she barely saw the court as it was.

The best thing I can say for UCLA is that it got faced with real adversity for the first time in months and came out stronger because of it. Even in their struggles against Oklahoma State and Minnesota, it never felt that the Bruins were in danger of losing. This game felt different, so to look defeat in the eye and say “not today” speaks to their growth as a team and program. Coach Close’s teams have become infamous to an extent in their inability to rise up when they get punched in the mouth, so to see it happen today was a tremendous positive to build on.

Off to Phoenix. The real tournament begins now.

Here are my game notes:

First Quarter

• Pregame thoughts: This is the first really intriguing game for the Bruins in the tournament. As usual, UCLA will have a talent advantage, but this is the first game where the opponent will have a coaching advantage. Kara Lawson is the head coach of Team USA for a reason, and you can bet she’s had plans percolating for how to adapt to the Bruins for round two. I’ll also throw out the familiarity factor here as well; yes, the Bruins won by 30 last time and were without Lauren Betts, but both teams were playing their second game in a row, and UCLA in particular was motivated after losing to Texas the night prior. Duke is a much-improved squad riding a wave of momentum, and I wonder if UCLA is going to come in complacent again.

• Another game, another slow start for the Bruins. In particular, UCLA is turning the ball over at a high level, while defensively, Duke is attacking the drop coverage by Lauren Betts to make some elbow jumpers. Maybe the Bruins are hoping those shots stop falling, but Betts is good enough to play better coverage there.

• Underrated aspect of the game so far: UCLA’s offense has been exceptionally simple, to the point that they have been very easy to defend. UCLA is not hiding its strategy of trying to get the ball to Betts, and as soon as Duke defends that, the guards are left to dribble out on the perimeter before trying to make something happen. The shot-clock violation was the epitome of these issues, as Kiki Rice was left dribbling on the wing with everyone else staring at her.

• End of 1Q thoughts: Look, at some point, Cori Close is going to have to prove me wrong and make schematic changes to win a game, because right now Kara Lawson is running circles around her. UCLA’s defensive strategy is giving up way too many open midrange looks to a team of shooters, and on offense, everything is too simplistic. The offense issues have been a season-long issue that we have overlooked because, as it turns out, a hammer is mighty effective against most things, but Duke has it scouted really well and is making the Bruins pay. Six turnovers in the half speak to how out of sync the Bruins look.

Second Quarter

• Gianna Kneepkens did not look set on that first three-point attempt, with her body leaning forward and throwing the shot off. Given how bad Gabriela Jaquez’s outside shot has been of late (she airballed a three on the next possession) the Bruins can ill afford having Kneepkens go into a slump as well.

• Every part of that Kiki Rice fast break was ill-advised, and it still worked.

• Toby Fournier has been the difference on the court so far for Duke. Yes, Taina Mair has been sensational, but Fournier has been the difference-maker defensively, helping limit Lauren Betts’s ability to get the ball down low.

• Halftime thoughts: I’d say this is a shocking half of basketball, but then I’d be lying to you. UCLA has not faced a team that can truly challenge them for months, and for the first time since the Texas game, they’ve been punched in the mouth and are struggling to respond. UCLA is not generating any sort of easy offense, largely because they have not shown an ability to do so beyond their typical strategy of “Throw ball to Lauren and either kick out when defense collapses or get an easy shot at the rim”. Kara Lawson has done a tremendous job of preparing her team for this game, while Cori Close has not come, well, close. I expect the Bruins will make some adjustments in the second half (Duke especially faded against LSU on Friday), but this half will again sit as a good example of why national pundits do not seriously think the Bruins can challenge UConn for the title.

• More: The defense has not been great (Duke is shooting 53.1% from the field so far), but credit to Duke for hitting some tough shots when necessary. The bigger issue is that Duke has seven more shot attempts than the Bruins, in large part because they are doing a great job of taking care of the ball compared to UCLA. UCLA’s guards had a nightmare first half as far as protecting the ball, and that has to get better in a hurry.

Third Quarter

• The first play out of halftime was a good example of off-ball movement, with Gabriela Jaquez throwing the interior pass to Betts, then cutting to the basket for an easy layup. She follows that up with a three-pointer to cut into the lead.

• UCLA is definitely playing with more urgency this half, but Duke is still doing a great job of attacking every loose ball. Critically, the Bruin just drew a third foul on Fournier, so they need to do some damage now.

• That’s the third shot-clock violation that you can directly point at Rice for not recognizing the time on the clock. She has not had a good game thus far.

• For the first time in this game, Kneepkens got set on her three-point attempt, and she buried it to give UCLA the lead. The key so far? After a half where the Bruins had 12 turnovers, they have only had two so far.

• Fournier back in, these are crucial minutes for both sides. If I’m UCLA, I am attacking her relentlessly to try and get that 4th foul on her.

• UCLA has hit a few outside shots, which have finally opened things up on the interior. The Bruins are still failing to do a lot of movement to generate open looks, but they’re hitting the open looks they are getting, which is huge, especially as Duke has gone cold from the midrange.

• End of 3Q thoughts: I don’t know if that was the best quarter UCLA has played in the NCAA Tournament (that first quarter against Oklahoma State still stands out in that regard), but it was definitely the most important thus far. With their backs against the wall, UCLA finally showed the kind of urgency that is necessary to win games at this point in the tournament, which is allowing their talent to shine. In particular, the Bruins have cut down on the turnovers, which is letting UCLA set its defense more often.

Fourth Quarter

• UCLA, with a lead late, is always a problem for opponents because they have too many ways to beat an aggressive opponent. Case in point, UCLA has had multiple offensive rebounds leading to easy second-chance points to start because Duke is trying to sell out on the initial shot. The game is not close to over, but this is exactly where the Bruins want to be in the 4th quarter.

• Lauren Betts absolutely got away with a foul on that held ball, and then Duke gets called for a cheap foul against her on the ensuing possession. I think the officiating has been fine for the most part, but I’d say it is definitely benefiting the Bruins late.

• Angela Dugalic has bailed UCLA out so often in this game, and she does so again with a late shot clock (after, as has been the case, Kiki Rice dribbled out the clock for no real reason). UCLA’s top six is one of the strongest in the country, in large part because Dugalic would be a starter on the vast majority of teams in the nation, and she’s showing why again.

• UCLA’s offense trying to kill time has been an adventure here, especially given all the turnovers. Of course, when in doubt, get the ball to Betts, as Charlisse Leger-Walker throws one hell of an inbound pass to Betts deep in the paint for the easy layup that should put this game to bed with a minute left.

• Final thoughts: I thought UCLA’s talent was going to be too much for Duke to overcome, and that eventually proved to be true, but the Blue Devils gave UCLA everything it could handle and then some. I’m not sure what this means going forward, as we’ve said a few times that UCLA should learn to come out firing each game, but the margin for error is officially gone. A potential matchup with Texas looms on Friday, and the Longhorns are not going to be afraid of UCLA.

UCLA will play the winner of Texas and Michigan on Friday.

Go Bruins!

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The Bruins are now just one win away from back-to-back Women’s Final Four appearances. If UCLA can beat Duke, the Bruins will take on the winner of tomorrow’s Fort Worth 3 Regional Final between Texas and Michigan on Friday.

The good news for the Bruins is that, not only did they defeat Duke by 30 points in November, they also did it without Lauren Betts, who had been injured the day before when UCLA played Texas. The bad news is that Blue Devils are still a very good basketball team which beat the #2 seed LSU on Friday to advance to today’s game, and Duke will be riding high after winning Friday’s game on a buzzer beater by Ashlon Jackson.

Last Time Out

The Bruins never trailed against Minnesota on Friday. Charlisse Leger-Walker scored the first basket of the game for the Bruins, but Mara Braun tied it for the Gophers. Lauren Betts scored UCLA’s next two buckets to take a 6-4 lead with 7:19 left in the first quarter before both teams went scoreless over the next three minutes.

Angela Dugalić ended the drought with a layup and Kiki Rice added a pair of free throws to give the Bruins a 10-4 lead with just over four minutes to go. At the end of the first quarter, UCLA led 18-10.

The second quarter began with a three-poinnter by Minnesota’s Grace Grocholski, which cut the Bruin lead to five. For the rest of the half, the teams scored 16 points each. On three separate times during the second quarter, the Gophers were able to cut UCLA’s lead to just three points, but each time, the Bruins responded including a layup by Gianna Kneepkens as time in the half expired, giving UCLA a 34-29 lead at the break.

The Bruins began the third quarter with a 8-0 run with Lauren Betts capping it with a layup with 5:50 to go, stretching UCLA’s lead to 13, 42-29. After another Grocholski three, the Bruins went on another 7-0 run and they now led 49-32 with 3:35 left in the quarter. A 9-2 run by the Gophers cute UCLA’s lead back to ten, 51-41, with just under a minute to go. Kiki Rice added a pair of free throws in the final minute to give the Bruins a 12-point lead and UCLA led 53-41 after three.

Rice began the final quarter with a three and she added two more after Sophie Hart made the second of two free throws. That gave the Bruins a 58-42 lead, meaning Rice’s layup would prove to be the game-winner with less than nine minutes left. UCLA would score another 22 points in the time remaining to defeat the Golden Gophers, 80-56.

Rice led all scorers with 21 points while Lauren Betts added 16 more. Dugalić had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Gabriela Jaquez was the fourth Bruin in double figures with ten points. Leger-Walker just missed being in double figures in assists with eight.

After the Bruins took care of business, Duke took on #2 seed LSU. After LSU took a quick lead with the first basket of the game, the Blue Devils took over which left the Tigers playing catch-up all game. Duke outscored LSU, 24-19, in the first quarter and they increased their lead to 47-40 at the break.

LSU used the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter to erase the Blue Devils’ lead and tie the game, 52-52. LSU’s Mikaylah Williams was fouled on the shot which tied the game, and she gave LSU their first lead since the first quarter when she made the subsequent free throw. The teams battled for the remainder of the quarter and Duke ended the quarter with a two-point lead, thanks to a jumper by Taina Mair with 18 seconds to go in the third quarter.

After Williams tied the game back up with the first bucket of the fourth quarter, Duke went on an 11-0 run, their biggest of the game, and the Blue Devils led 78-67 with 7:35 left. It was also Duke’s biggest lead of the game. With 3:35 left, the Blue Devils still had a nine-point lead, 84-75.

The Tigers weren’t done yet. They went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:26 to take an 85-84 lead with just nine seconds left.

But Duke had the ball.

Mair’s three with six seconds left missed, but the Blue Devils got the rebound and called a timeout to set up their final play. LSU also called one.

With two seconds left, Jackson put up a three which went around the rim and through the net with time expired to send the Blue Devils to today’s game.

Duke Blue Devils’ Starting Five

Both teams will have a slightly different starting lineup this afternoon from when they met in November. I mentioned above how the Bruins were without Lauren Betts when they met Duke back then.

At the same time, the Blue Devils lost starting guard Jadyn Donovan in December to a season-ending lower body injury. In her place, look for head coach Kara Lawson to start redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson. Against the Bruins last time, Nelson didn’t score in 21 minutes, missing two three-pointers which were the only shots she took.

It’s been a case of addition by subtraction for Duke. Before the game against UCLA, Nelson was averaging 6.6 ppg with just one game in double figures. Since being shutout against the Bruins, she’s had 17 games in double figures with a season-high 23 points against Georgia Tech in January.

That said, she has gone cold in the NCAA tournament. She scored just four against the College of Charleston as well as LSU and scored just six against Baylor in between. Specifically, she’s been unable to make a three despite shooting 34.1% from long-range this season.

Lawson will start two more guards along with two forwards. Senior Toby Fournier scored 17 against UCLA last time and she is averaging 17.5 ppg for the year. She has a 34.0% three-point percentage but is only shooting 25% from three in the tournament. She leads the Blue Devils in both blocks with 78 and in rebounds with an average of 8.0 rpg.

The other starting forward will be junior Delaney Thomas. She scored ten against the Bruins in November and she is averaging 11.0 ppg for the season. She is second in rebounds with an average of 6.3 rpg.

In addition to Nelson, the other guards will be seniors Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair. Jackson led the Blue Devils with 18 points against UCLA in November and she is averaging 11.5 ppg. She’s second on the team in assists with 159. While she only shoots 31.3% from beyond the arc, she’s tried almost as many threes as Mair and Nelson, combined. That means she’s made more threes than any other Blue Devil.

Mair scored just four against the Bruins last time, even though she is averaging 11.3 ppg for the season. She is the best three-point shooter among the starters with a 34.7% three-point percentage and she leads Duke in steals with 85 and in assists with 195.

Against LSU on Friday, Lawson only used a seven-player rotation. Junior forward Jordan Wood played 31 minutes but only scored four points. Meanwhile, 6’4” redshirt freshman center Arianna Roberson scored nine in 24 minutes. Wood and Roberson each scored five points against UCLA in November.

Outlook

The games are supposed to get harder as the tournament progresses, and today’s game shouldn’t be an exception, even though the Bruins had no trouble with the Blue Devils in November.

The Bruins have a decided height advantage. At 6’3”, Thomas is Duke’s tallest starter while Roberson is the tallest player on the team.

While I expect the Blue Devils to focus on trying to stop Lauren Betts because they have to, UCLA beat them by 30 without either Betts sister. Despite that, I still expect Duke to put up a bigger fight this time because there is more on the line.

Ultimately, as long as UCLA sticks to their game plan, the Bruins should prove to be too much for the Blue Devils to handle.

Watch and Listen to the Game With TMB

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on ABC and streamed on WatchESPN.com with the insufferable Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Jess Sims on the call. The good news is you can choose to listen to Dave Marcus call the game for the Bruins by listening online or you can opt for the Westwood One national feed on satellite radio. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.

This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. Duke Blue Devils NCAA Women’s Basketball Elite Eight game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream today’s game:

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite Eight

• Opponents: #1 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (34-1) vs. #3 seed Duke Blue Devils (27-8)

• Series Record: Series tied, 2-2

• When: 12:20 pm PT, Sunday, March 29, 2026

• Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

• TV: ABC with Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Jess Sims

• Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

• Radio/Audio:
  Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 211 & XM Ch. 204 with Lance Medow & Mary Murphy
  Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus

• Live Stats: NCAA Game Center

• Tournament Notes:
  UCLA

  Duke
  

Go Bruins!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

Nobody ever said the road to a national championship was going to be easy.

The story of the UCLA Bruins in this NCAA Tournament has been one of needing to battle. Cal Baptist scratched and clawed throughout the opener. Oklahoma State refused to go away quietly and made the Bruins work for a full forty minutes.

So maybe it should not have been a surprise that the Minnesota Golden Gophers were able to hang with the Bruins as long as they did. Minnesota had a good season and was deserving of a #4 seed, and they have improved tremendously from the team that UCLA beat back in January. Perhaps that familiarity with the Bruins led to the fearlessness that the Gophers played with throughout the game, refusing to be starstruck or letting UCLA extend their lead for any amount of time.

That said, one of UCLA’s value propositions this season is that, over a forty-minute game, their talent level is such that most teams will fade away by the end, and this game was no exception. UCLA’s offense, which spent the first half unable to hit a layup let alone an outside shot, was able to get in gear in the second half and support a defense that was generally exceptional throughout, allowing the Bruins to keep pushing their led higher and higher before finishing with an 80-56 victory, securing their ticket to the Elite Eight in the process.

UCLA’s defense was the story of this game, and rightfully so. The Bruins held Minnesota to 37.9% shooting (22-58) from the field, forcing Minnesota into a lot of tough jump shots throughout and making the Golden Gophers work for their points. Their nine blocks and 11 steals speak to how difficult UCLA made things for Minnesota, with Lauren Betts in particular just an absolute monster on the interior. After the game, Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit talked about how UCLA’s physicality on defense made things a problem for her team, and that was evident for anyone watching.

The defense was not limited to just Lauren, however. While she had five blocks on her own, four other Bruins logged a block, while six Bruins logged steals, led by three steals from Kiki Rice. The defense also helped kickstart the offense, as the Bruins scored 17 points off turnovers (13 on the fast break), which were crucial points for a Bruin offense that struggled at times to generate points in the half-court set.

UCLA’s offense was very much a concern in this one, however. The Bruins finished shooting 52.5% from the field (32-61), which, on its face, is a good result, but anyone watching the game would tell you that the Bruins struggled. At one point in the first half, the Bruins had gone 6-15 on layups, and while the Bruins finished with 52 points in the paint, they likely left so many more points on the floor thanks to some poor shooting at the rim. Their outside shooting was not much better; UCLA finished 4-16 from three-point range, with two of those makes coming from Lena Bilic and Christina Karamouzi. who played a combined 10 minutes. UCLA’s core six went 2-12 from deep, and since the start of the Big Ten Tournament, the Bruins have only crossed the 35% threshold twice in six games. Now, they’re still winning, but we’re getting close to the point where the Bruins will no longer have a margin for error - depending on the results of this Duke-LSU game, that point might be Sunday.

Quick run-through on some stats before I wrap things up. Angela Dugalic put up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but two point-blank missed layups are likely going to keep her up late tonight. Kiki Rice was emblematic of the second-half turnaround; she finished with a game-high 21 points, but 15 of those came in the second half. Charlisse Leger-Walker struggled to score, but she put up an assist-to-turnover ratio that would make Mick Cronin blush, finishing with eight assists and only one turnover.

Lauren Betts made a joke during the postgame press conference that the job’s not done and that the Bruins are treating this like a business trip, but I am starting to wonder if that is playing a role in how the team has looked so far. UCLA has not put together a complete game yet this tournament, and too often the team looks tight or hesitant instead of playing free basketball. Perhaps they have not been challenged nearly as much as their #1 strength of schedule would indicate, or perhaps this is a team knowing they have another gear they can turn to when necessary. Regardless, this is a team that needs to figure some things out and in a hurry if they want to achieve those goals.

Here are my game notes:

First Quarter

• Pregame thoughts: I was thinking about a lot of the comparisons between UCLA and UConn that have been made, and one of the points made is that UCLA had the best strength of schedule and went undefeated in the Big Ten, one of the best conferences in the country. However, I’m not so sure that last point stands up to scrutiny at the moment. Only three Big Ten teams made it to the Sweet Sixteen out of the 12 that made the tournament, and while you can’t blame lower seeds like Southern Cal or Nebraska for falling short, the conference did not cover itself in glory. UCLA, Minnesota, and Michigan held serve on their home courts, but the same could not be said for #2 seed Iowa or #3 seed Ohio State. More than a few of those Big Ten teams got run off the court as well, which doesn’t speak well of the supposed strength of the conference. I’m not saying UCLA got an easy road in conference, but I am starting to suspect this team was not as challenged in conference as we were led to believe.

• Early feeling out here, but UCLA’s advantage, as usual, is Lauren Betts. Betts has already hit one long jumper, which should open things up for the Bruins as the game progresses. The rest of the Bruins need to get some things together, as the general malaise that hit them seems to have carried over early.

• REAL bad miss by Dugalic on a wide-open layup. UCLA really needs to settle down instead of just hoping Betts will carry them again.

• Alright, here comes Sienna for her first run in the game. The hope for UCLA has to be that playing a familiar opponent will help settle her down and get her playing closer to potential, allowing her to grow from her poor performance against Oklahoma State. She’s an X-factor on this team because she can give UCLA that interior presence when her sister is out, but she needs to play under control for that to happen.

• UCLA is not exactly starting to turn it up offensively, but the defense has picked up and is causing all sorts of problems for the Golden Gophers. But seriously, if Dugalic could just hit some layups, that would be great.

• End of 1Q thoughts: So far, this game feels like a carry-over of the Oklahoma State game on offense, with the Bruins missing a ton of looks right at the basket (including more than a few wide-open ones). The two big positives so far are Lauren Betts (as usual) and the defense, which has challenged Minnesota on every possession and forced five turnovers already. If the Bruins could make their shots at the rim, that would go a long way to turning a close early game into a laugher.

Second Quarter

• The lay-up issues will apparently continue unless morale improves. The announcers mentioned that UCLA was 6-15 at the rim following a Charlisse Leger-Walker miss on the fast break, and that is simply not elite basketball.

• UCLA might be winning, but they are playing Minnesota’s game at the moment, with a lot of up-and-down basketball. Minnesota is starting to hit some threes as well, so the Bruins really need to lock in on defense and slow things down.

• Minnesota seems more than content to sag off of Gabriela Jaquez on defense, and Jaquez has failed so far to make them pay. She’s 1-5 to start, missing both of her three-point attempts. Jaquez has done great at doing all the little things that an elite team needs, but her draft stock has taken a hit as her jumper has not looked anything close to consistent.

• Halftime thoughts: I didn’t have nearly as many thoughts as I usually do, which in hindsight speaks to how thoroughly Minnesota was dictating terms in the quarter. The Golden Gophers shot 53.8% in the quarter and hit three three-pointers, while they outrebounded the Bruins pretty significantly in the quarter. This would be five straight quarters where the Bruins have not played up to their potential, which is a worrying trend.

• More: UCLA’s whole value proposition this season is that the top five (six if you want to be generous about Dugalic) is so loaded with talent that they can afford an off night from one or two players and win comfortably. What we haven’t seen yet is what happens when most of that group has an off night against a good team. Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic combined to go 10-13 (76.9%) in the first half, while the rest of the lineup went a miserable 6-20 (30%), and that’s not great. The Bruins are going to need at least one other player to step up in the second half because Minnesota has all sorts of momentum at the moment.

Third Quarter

• One of the things Coach Close talked about after Oklahoma State was this concept the team has called “kills”, which is getting three defensive stops in a row. It’s an interesting concept, especially because getting four straight stops is really hard and speaks to the high expectations of the team, but it was something sitting in my head during the first half when the Bruins could not stop Minnesota for any length of time. Well, the Bruins started the half with what feels like their first kill of the game, which forced a Minnesota timeout early.

• Clever use of the media timeout by Close to get Lauren extra rest, but this does get to a problem so far in this game, which is Close’s seeming disinterest in utilizing her bench in this game. I get that as the stakes get higher, you want to have more trust in your starters, but you also want to keep those starters as fresh as possible. Sienna looked fine in her first run, and Lena Bilic has done a good job playing within herself so far, but with the shooting struggles, the team could really use extra rest time to get their legs under them.

• Speaking of shooting issues, the Bruins are 4-7 from the field halfway through the third quarter, but all four makes have been at the rim. The Bruins are currently 0-7 from deep, which does not feel great.

• Hey, remember when I said Close should play her bench a bit more? Well, Sienna and Bilic stayed out after the media timeout, and Sienna is still putting up some good minutes, and Bilic hit UCLA’s first three-pointer of the game to extend the lead. Good things happen!

• Another sign of those shooting woes: UCLA is currently 6-13 from the free-throw line. It doesn’t matter if the Bruins are doing a good job of forcing Minnesota into tough defensive spots if they can’t convert from the charity stripe. And UCLA’s shooting woes are juxtaposed against Minnesota getting hot from deep again.

• End of 3Q thoughts: That was better, but still not at the level that you would expect from a #1 seed. UCLA isn’t doing enough of the little things and is letting Minnesota hang around in a game that, from a defensive perspective, they should be dominating by 20+ points. The Bruins held the Gophers to 25% shooting (4-16), but thanks to five turnovers of their own and going 6-10 from the free-throw line, they’ve only extended their lead by seven.

Fourth Quarter

• About halfway through the quarter, this is by far UCLA’s best quarter of the game. UCLA is hitting its shots and has played some strong defense, which is putting immense pressure on Minnesota to score quickly. Of note, UCLA has finally hit a few three-pointers this quarter, which has only added to the issues the Golden Gophers are trying to overcome.

• I think Minnesota’s rebounding numbers are a bit misleading. At the 4th quarter media timeout, it says Minnesota has 10 offensive rebounds, but I’ve noticed that it counts as a Minnesota offensive rebound whenever UCLA blocks a shot out of bounds. Minnesota has four offensive rebounds attributed to the team in general, while the Bruins have a ridiculous nine blocks in this game. The offense might have been pedestrian, but the defense has generally been really good for the Bruins.

• These last five minutes are going to suck from a pace perspective. Both teams have four fouls already, which means every whistle from here on out is going to result in free throws. If UCLA can hit its free throws (not a guarantee given how this game has gone to this point!), then you’d like their chances to comfortably close this out.

• Nitpick: Kiki Rice really needs to start passing a bit on the fast break. She had a three-on-one break and chose to attack on her own rather than give the ball up to one of the trailers for an easy basket. She ultimately converted the second shot to finish the game with 21, but it would be nice to see some smart basketball plays made from time to time.

• Benches clearing, this one is finally over.

• Final thoughts: I think you can pin part of UCLA’s struggles on playing a familiar opponent, but that’s what UCLA is going to have the rest of the way. The Bruins have played LSU in two straight NCAA Tournaments and played Duke earlier this season, so they have familiarity with both potential opponents in the Elite Eight, while they have recent games against Texas, South Carolina, and UConn as well. At some point in this NCAA Tournament, you’d like the Bruins to play a complete game and make a point that they deserved to be the #1 overall seed, but that just hasn’t happened yet. This still ended up as a comfortable win, but there was a lot that needed to be cleaned up yet again.

UCLA will be playing the winner of Duke and LSU on Sunday (which, as of writing, Duke is currently leading midway through the second quarter). Game time has not been set yet, but I would assume sometime around 1:00 PM PT given UConn and Notre Dame is set for 10:00 AM.

Go Bruins!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

The UCLA women’s basketball team is a third of the way to their goal of a national championship. Tonight, they play #4 seed Minnesota in the Sweet Sixteen at Sacramento Regional 2 at 4:30 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

For the most part, the women’s tournament has followed chalk to this point. There have only been six upsets in 48 games through Monday night, though three of those upsets occurred in the Second Round when #5 seed Kentucky defeated #4 seed West Virginia by a point and #6 seed Notre Dame defeated #3 seed Ohio State by ten. One of the more interesting teams so far has been #10 seed Virginia which, first, upset #7 seed Georgia in the first round by nine points and, then, upset #2 seed Iowa by eight in double overtime on Monday.

Last Time Out

Kiki Rice scored the first basket of the game Monday night for UCLA just 23 seconds into the game. Just 27 seconds later, Lauren Betts made it 4-0 on a layup. Eventually, the Bruins would score nine points before Oklahoma State could get on the scoreboard. UCLA would also finish the first quarter on a 10-0 run and the Bruins led 21-6 after one.

The Bruins continued their domination of the Cowgirls in the second quarter, stretching out their lead to as many as 25 points multiple times. By halftime, Oklahoma State was able to shrink the lead back to 20 as the Bruins led 46-26 at the break.

The third quarter saw the Cowgirls looking to fight back. They managed to trim UCLA’s lead to as little as 13 points midway through the quarter, but by the end of the third, the Bruins were back up by 17, leading 64-47.

The Cowgirls continued to push UCLA in the fourth quarter. A three-pointer by Stailee Heard cut the Bruins’ lead to 64-50 during the first minute of the quarter, but that would be as close as Oklahoma State would get. By the midway point in the fourth, UCLA had stretched the lead back out to 20, 72-52.

For the Bruins, the exclamation point came with just over a minute to go when Lauren Betts made what would be the last shot she’d ever take in a game at Pauley. It gave UCLA an 85-64 lead and, while the Bruins don’t go looking for individual accolades, it gave Betts a career-high 35 points for the game. After the shot went through the net, OSU head coach Jacie Hoyt called a timeout and Bruin coach Cori Close took advantage of it to sub out four of her seniors including Betts, giving the home crowd an opportunity to cheer for her, Gianna Kneepkens, Angela Dugalić and Charlisse Leger-Walker a final time.

After the game, Betts was asked for her thoughts about scoring a career-high on her final shot at Pauley. She was almost at a loss for words. After taking a moment to really think about the accomplishment, she said, “Yeah, that’s really cool. I can’t deny, like, that is really cool.” Of course, in typical fashion for every member of this team, she also spoke about how the individual accomplishments don’t mean much. “I feel like the points, they really don’t mean anything to me. To me, I really just want to win games with this team. The fact that we won today is what matters most to me, and that we’re moving on to the Sweet 16,” Betts said.

The mass substitution left only Gabriela Jaquez as the only Bruin senior to finish off the game. Fittingly, Jaquez scored UCLA’s final point in this one on a free throw with 24 seconds left. After an Amari Whiting jumper made the score 87-68, Jaquez dribbled the ball up the floor as the clock ran out to send the Bruins to Sacramento for tonight’s Sweet 16 game.

Meanwhile, the Golden Gophers trailed Ole Miss 54-46 as the game headed into the fourth quarter. Minnesota tied the game, 61-61, with 1:17 left when Mara Braun nailed a three. The teams traded baskets, making it 63-63. The Gophers got the ball back with just 3.5 seconds left. That’s when Amaya Battle hit the game-winning jumper for the Minnesota as time expired.

That shot prevented Ole Miss from getting a rematch of last season’s Sweet Sixteen game against the Bruins, and instead, sets up a rematch of January’s game between these Big Ten foes which saw UCLA defeat Minnesota on the road, 76-58.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Since the Bruins played the Gophers in mid-January, Minnesota has won 12 of their 15 games. The losses came against Washington, Michigan State and Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament.

Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit has started the same lineup in 28 of Minnesota’s 32 games this season. Based on the Gophers’ second round game, it looks like she will start the same lineup she did against the Bruins in January.

That lineup went 23-5 this season. Meanwhile, the only other starting lineup for Minnesota subbed Brylee Glenn in for Tori McKinney, but that lineup went just 1-3 this season.

Outlook

UCLA cleaned up by going undefeated against a strong Big Ten Conference this season. Minnesota is one of just three Big Ten teams left in the NCAA tournament after eight teams lost in the Second Round.

Regardless of who wins tonight’s game, there will be just two Big Ten teams left after this game.

There is absolutely no reason UCLA should not win tonight’s game. The Bruins just need to stay focused on their game plan for 40 minutes and they should be proceeding on to the Elite Eight on Sunday against the winner of the Duke-LSU game which follows.

This team is on a mission, and that mission should not end tonight.

Listen to the Game With TMB

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on WatchESPN.com with the insufferable Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Jess Sims on the call. The good news is you can choose to listen to Dave Marcus call the game for the Bruins by listening online or you can opt for the Westwood One national feed on satellite radio. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.

This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sweet Sixteen game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:

2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16

• Opponents: #1 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (33-1) vs. #4 seed Minnesota Golden Gophers (24-8)

• Series Record: UCLA leads, 4-1.

• When: 4:30 pm PT, Friday, March 27, 2026

• Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

• TV: ESPN with Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli and Jess Sims

• Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

• Radio/Audio:
  Satellite Radio: Sirius Ch. 211 & XM Ch. 204 with Lance Medow & Mary Murphy
  Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus

• Live Stats: NCAA Gamecenter

• Tournament Notes:
  UCLA

  Minnesota
  

Go Bruins!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

The UCLA Bruins under Cori Close have created an unenviable position for themselves, in that their sustained excellence means that they are constantly being compared to their prior performance. On the one hand, you want to be in that position, because it means that people have high expectations for you, and believe that you are capable of meeting them.

On the flip side, when you don’t meet those expectations, it stands out like a sore thumb, even in victory. You can look at UCLA’s 87-68 victory over Oklahoma State as a gutty victory, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but I would also posit that it wasn’t up to the standard that the program has established for itself.

But don’t take my word for it. Take it from Cori Close, who said in the postgame that the second half was the first time all season that she felt the team was letting the weight of expectations start to weigh them down. There were moments where UCLA looked tentative, at times a step slow in rotating on defense, or making lackadaisical passes that were easy to tip, or even letting a decision by the officials seem to effect them mentally, and it showed. UCLA had an excellent start to the game, coasted a bit in the second quarter, and then let Oklahoma State thoroughly outplay them in the second half. UCLA had the best player on the court, but you could make the argument that Oklahoma State had the second and third best players, and when your team is as talented as UCLA’s is, that’s not great.

I don’t want to sound like I’m dismissing UCLA’s opponent, so let me say here full credit to Oklahoma State for getting punched in the mouth and refusing to roll over. The Cowgirls continually exploited a lethargic UCLA defense at the point of attack, running an effective pick-and-roll that the Bruins struggled to defend. Achol Akot was a force, scoring 23 points on 10-16 shooting while creating problems for the poor UCLA defenders who routinely got switched on her down in the post. Jadyn Wooten was similarly effective, scoring 18 points (9-18 from the field), with 14 of them coming in the second half on a series of tough shots. Oklahoma State shot 51.4% in the second half, which feels like an unacceptable amount for UCLA to give up in any game, let alone an NCAA Tournament game, and the only reason this game wasn’t closer was because the Bruins started so hot to open the game.

Of course, the lead also felt safe because the best player on the court still wore blue and gold.

In her final performance in front of the Pauley Pavilion faithful, Lauren Betts set a new career high with 35 points on 15-19 shooting from the field while grabbing nine rebounds and five assists. Simply put, it was a transcendent performance, one that should assuage any fears from WNBA scouts as to her ability to be an impact player at the next level. Betts hit shots from all over, showing off her increased range with a few jumpers beyond the free throw line, but also did her usual damage around the basket, showcasing both her soft hands to easily receive a bevy of entry passes while displaying more nuanced attacks in the post than she had last year. And on defense, Betts was a force, chasing guards out to the three-point line while acting as a menace on the interior. So much of the Oklahoma State attack focused on avoiding Betts as much as possible, and I can honestly state that was the best move they could have made to try and win the game.

UCLA needed Lauren to have a transcendent performance because, outside of her, it is hard to pinpoint any other UCLA players that you could say met the level of competitive greatness that has been a standard here. Gianna Kneepkens came closest, as her 15 points (including hitting three of her six three-pointers) provided some welcome secondary scoring that kept defenses honest, but her defense was spotty. Gabriela Jaquez had the most “complete” game, doing all the dirty work en route to 10 points and seven rebounds, but she disappeared in the second half. Lena Bilic had a good game, but only played six minutes so hard to take too much from it.

It gets worse the further down you go. Kiki Rice was a nonfactor, which is probably the best thing you can say about the players in this group, but she was seemingly pressing at times in the second half while searching for points. Charlisse Leger-Walker had eight assists and played mistake-free basketball on the offensive end, but she was continually hunted on defense and ended up sitting a decent amount because of it. Angela Dugelic can point to her defense as a positive, but her offensive game was by far her worst in at least a month. And Sienna Betts felt like a disaster on the court, only recording three points while picking up two turnovers, zero rebounds, and generally getting lost on switches and taken out of the play.

If you’re Cori Close, the best thing you can say about this game is that you won. The second-best thing you can say about this game is that there is now plenty of teachable tape to go over the next few days, and the third-best thing you can say is that you are at least familiar with your next opponent, though Minnesota has been on a heater since losing to the Bruins back in January. But I can’t imagine she will be sleeping well for the next few nights; there were simply too many problems to ignore.

Making a fourth-consecutive Sweet Sixteen is a tremendous achievement, but that’s the curse of a standard - when you fail to meet it, it eats at you for a long time.

First Quarter

• There’s very much a feeling of Last Dance going on here, and I don’t think I really appreciated it until the starting lineups. Hearing the word “senior” over and over when UCLA’s group was being announced hit home that this was not only this group’s last game inside Pauley, but the last run for all of them. All five starters are projected WNBA first-round draft picks, so this is really a last ride sort of thing.

• I watched a lot of Oklahoma State’s game on Saturday, so I got familiar with a few of their players and what they want to do, but this is very clearly a situation early where the Cowgirls are not going to be able to do the same things in this game that they were against Princeton. Similarly, UCLA’s offense is able to do whatever it wants in a way that they were not able to do early against the smaller, faster Cal Baptist squad.

• Oklahoma State called an early timeout because, while the Bruins are “only” shootnig 62.5% from the field, they’ve scored on almost every possession so far, with four second-chance points early on. Lauren Betts already looks like a problem on the interior, especially if Charlisse Leger-Walker is throwing the kind of beautiful bounce passes she has to start this one.

• Similar size thing: against Princeton, Oklahoma State’s Achol Akot was huge, both literally and figuratively. Against UCLA, the Bruins can switch three different members of the starting lineup who can match her size, to say nothing of Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice only giving up a few inches at best.

• You can see the glimpses of skill with Sienna Betts and know she’ll be good down the line, but right now, there are still a ton of instances where she makes freshman mistakes. I think giving her heavy reps early is a good idea, because if she can provide solid minutes in the later rounds, that would be huge (also, Oklahoma State has decided to get more physical with her than Lauren, which is interesting to say the least).

• Gianna Kneepkens is locked in early, hitting both of her three-pointers. She came in as the “missing piece” of this team, a consistent outside shooter that could extend the floor and stretch defenses out for Betts and Rice to work, and it’s good to see her getting into a rhythm early.

• End of 1Q thoughts: Oklahoma State clearly wants to be physical with UCLA, but it has not worked through the first quarter. All it’s doing is allowing UCLA to match that physicality and limit the Cowgirls. Oklahoma State only had six points on 2-16 shooting, and there weren’t many open looks that OSU can point to as being tough misses. One interesting note: Oklahoma State is doubling up UCLA on offensive rebounds so far, having seven to three for the Bruins, but it’s largely a byproduct of all the jump shots the Bruins are forcing.

Second Quarter

• Lauren Betts has a lot of confidence in that 15-foot jumper, and she’s hitting it at a good-enough clip that it has turned into a weapon. That’s huge, not just for her development but for UCLA’s offense in the rest of the tournament, as teams have to respect her from further out, opening up cut lanes for the rest of the team.

• You know who has given some real good minutes during this opening weekend? Lena Bilic. She’s hit two threes so far in this first half with confidence and is playing some solid defense. I don’t think you should expect 20+ minutes from her late in the tournament or anything, but if she can keep winning her minutes, that will go a long way toward helping UCLA win those crucial middle-quarter minutes when some of the starters are sitting.

• Ok, Lauren Betts just had one of the meaner defensive possessions I’ve seen yet. Poor Achot Akot tried using a dribble to get around and past Betts, and Betts stayed with her the entire time, blocked the eventual layup attempt, and managed to knock it off Akot.

• Akot is starting to heat up late here, stretching the court and making Betts have to work more on the defensive end. It’s good practice for UConn at the very least, but the Bruins will need to figure out a more focused defensive plan at the very least.

• There’s a fun little action UCLA has been running on offense against the zone, where Jaquez goes and sits in the dunker spot while Betts operates more on the wing. Oklahoma State hasn’t figured out much to stop that action, but then again, there isn’t much they’ve been able to stop to begin with.

• Halftime thoughts: Oklahoma State started figuring some things out offensively, though the solution - just hit tough fadeaways and avoid Lauren Betts if at all possible - doesn’t seem particularly sustainable, especially if Betts can get whatever she wants on the other end. UCLA’s offense similarly stagnated late, but the Bruins aren’t running anything particularly complicated on that end at the moment.

Third Quarter

• UCLA recognizes the best way to neutralize Akot is to put her in actions where she either has to foul or give up an easy basket. She picks up an early third foul and is back to the bench, which should help stem the OSU attack.

• Jadyn Wooten has hit some tough shots in this game, which is helping keep the Cowgirls relatively in the game. Also, UCLA is playing a bit lackadaisically on both ends at the moment. In particular, Angela Dugelic has not had a particularly good game so far, which is interesting because of how consistent she’s been over the past few weeks.

• I think Kiki is going to get tagged with a flagrant here. Live, it didn't look great that she was coming up high to get away from her defender. Even if not, the Bruins are back to struggling in a game that looked like it would be uncompetitive early. (And, live update: it wasn’t upgraded!)

• Lauren comes back in for Sienna much earlier than I think Cori Close would prefer, but it is warranted, as she was reaching some unplayable levels during that stint. Again, freshman playing her first major NCAA Tournament minutes and all that, but Close needs to be quicker on the hook with her and consider more of Amanda Muse, who is not as good a player but does the little things.

• Akot is back in the game with three fouls, and the UCLA strategy seems pretty simple: attack her immediately on offense. As an aside, the crowd has grown impatient with the officiating and is not being quiet about it; this is the loudest the crowd has been all game.

• End of 3Q thoughts: UCLA has had a bad habit of coming out flat for at least one quarter a game, and my feelings more often than not have been that the third quarter tends to be that quarter, as opposing teams will make adjustments and UCLA will be slow to react. That was the case here, as the Bruins only shot 35.3% (6-17) while letting Oklahoma State shoot a blistering 52.9% (9-17). Again, UCLA still leads by 17, and this does not feel like a game the Bruins are in danger of losing, but after spending a weekend watching the other #1 seeds summarily dispatch their opponents early and often, this has not been a confidence-building weekend like one would have hoped.

Fourth Quarter

• Little bit of shithousery by Oklahoma State there, having one player slowly tie her shoes to give the bench enough time to look at the footage and decide to review. In any event, UCLA still is not locked in on the defensive end, breaking down for easy layups repeatedly. As a positive, Akot just picked up her fourth foul, so we’ll see how long the Cowgirls risk sitting her.

• Akot is coming back to the floor. Time to see if UCLA will focus on getting her out of the game for good.

• A decent defensive shift, having Dugelic cover the ball to start possessions, which puts her and Betts into the action on the pick and roll, disrupting what Oklahoma State wants to do initially (and taking Leger-Walker, UCLA’s weakest defender in the core six, out of the play entirely). Close has not won the X’s and O’s battle in this second half, but that has at least slowed things down.

• Akott is going to have to risk a foul because otherwise, this is too easy offensively for Betts.

• I think the Bruins have done enough to put this game away, but this has not been an impressive performance, and it should give pause to anyone expecting UCLA to roll to the title game, let alone matchup well with UConn. Achot Akot has had her way with the UCLA defense, which isn’t ideal when you still have to potentially face Flau’jae Johnson and Sarah Strong to win a title. The UCLA offense did enough to get by, but outside of Lauren Betts and Gianna Kneepkens, this was not an ideal performance on that end, either.

• Curtain call time. Only Bruin not to get one is Jaquez, who gets to be the lone starter remaining with the bench squad.

• Final thoughts: UCLA fans did a good job filling out the Pauley (well, as much as you can expect this fan base to show up for anything), and Jaquez gets her curtain call by dribbling out the game and waving to the crowd. Cori Close got on the mic afterwards to thank the crowd, and the Bruins slapped their name on the board at center court in front of the Bruin faithful. The team even did the customary walk around the floor to thank fans. This isn’t something you see at any men’s game around the country, and it’s so cool to experience it in person.

The Bruins are now off to Sacramento to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers. That game is scheduled to tip off on Friday at 4:30 PM PT.

Go Bruins!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

Tonight, the UCLA women’s basketball team will play the final home game of the postseason at Pauley Pavilion when the Bruins host the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at 7 pm PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Last Time Out

On Saturday, the Bruins overcame a slow start against California Baptist before, ultimately, crushing the Lancers, 96-43.

To be sure, it wasn’t that the Bruins played badly in the first half. They just didn’t come out and dominate the game in the first few minutes the way they have all season long. In fact, CBU had the lead for most of the first half of first quarter and they still led 12-11 with four minutes to go.

But, then, Gianna Kneepkens hit a jumper that gave UCLA a 13-12 lead which began a 12-3 run which ended the quarter and the Bruins were ahead 23-15 after one.

Even the second quarter wasn’t quite up to the Bruins’ usual standard. After stretching the lead to 12, 27-15, with 9:11 left in the half, UCLA allowed CBU to cut the lead back to just six with 3:19 to go. At that point, the Bruins were up 34-28.

UCLA was still up by six with a little less than two and a half minutes to go before the break when they led 36-30.

At that point, the Bruins seemed to get serious, doubling up the Lancers 8-4 over the time remaining, and UCLA led by ten at the break, 44-34.

After the game, Coach Close described her halftime talk by saying, “It was spirited.” Oh, to be a fly on the locker room wall. Seriously, though, she also said that, to their credit, the players had already addressed what was going on themselves before the coaches even entered the locker room.

Whatever was said, it worked.

The Bruins came out in the second half and they suffocated CBU with their defense. UCLA outscored the Lancers, 31-4, yes, 31-4, in the third quarter and 21-5 in the fourth. Put another way, the Bruins finished the game, and CBU, with a 52-9 run.

Meanwhile, in the first game, Oklahoma State outscored Princeton, 48-33, in the first half. The Tigers fought back a little in the third, cutting the Cowgirls’ lead to eight, 61-33, by the end of the third. But Princeton ran out of gas in the fourth and, ultimately, fell, 82-68.

Oklahoma State Cowgirls’ Starting Five

If Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Holt has her way, tonight’s game will go much like Saturday’s when junior forward Achol Akot aka “A2” scored 28 points. A2 is OSU’s answer to Lauren Betts. While she is only averaging 12.1 ppg for the season, she does lead the Cowgirls in rebounds with an average of 7.3 rpg.

Beyond A2, look for Holt to start four guards, three of whom are averaging in double figures. Senior Micah Gray is averaging 13.9 ppg and shoots 35.2% from long distance while junior Stailee Heard is scoring an average of 12.2 ppg. Gray added 16 against Princeton on Saturday while Heard put up just eight. Gray has tried and made more threes than anyone else on the team.

Despite that the team’s three-point sharpshooter is 5’11” senior Haleigh Timmer. The South Dakota State transfer makes 42.3% of her threes. Timmer is averaging 11.7 ppg. Despite her height, she only averages 3.3 rpg, and she grabbed four boards against Princeton. The Cowgirls’ final starter will be junior Amari Whiting. She is averaginng just 9.6 ppg, making her the only starter not averaging in double figures.

This is the lineup Holt has started every game this season. So, there’s no reason to think she will change things up tonight.

Outlook

Tonight’s game should be another case of the Bruins being the Bruins. That’s not to discount the Cowgirls. Instead, I just expect UCLA to take what OSU gives them. If A2 and her teammates double-team Lauren Betts, look for the Bruins to get the ball to someone else.

UCLA has not lost a game in Pauley since last year’s home game against Southern Cal, and I don’t expect that to change tonight.

Listen to the Game With TMB

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on WatchESPN.com with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty on the call. Of course, you can choose to listen to Dave Marcus call the game for the Bruins by listening online or on satellite radio. To watch or listen online, just right-click on the links so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below.

This is your UCLA women’s basketball vs. Oklahoma State Cowgirls NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Second Round game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Second Round

• Opponents: #1 Seed UCLA Women’s Basketball (32-1) vs. #8 seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls (24-9)

• Series Record: UCLA leads, 2-1.

• When: 7:00 pm PT, Monday, March 23, 2026

• Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA

• TV: ESPN with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty

• Live Stream: WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app

• Radio/Audio:
  Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 81 (UCLA Call)
  Online: uclabruins.com with Dave Marcus

• Live Stats: NCAA Gamecenter

• Tournament Notes:
  UCLA

  Oklahoma State
  

Go Bruins!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

Unfortunately, the men’s season came to an end last night when the team lost to UConn, but that doesn’t mean basketball season in Westwood is over quite yet.

Tonight, the UCLA women host Oklahoma State in the Second Round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. This will be the final time to see Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens and Angela Dugalic in Pauley Pavilion. The good news is that tickets start at just $12 for kids and $25 for adults and they are still available. So, help pack Pauley one more time tonight!

One of the cool things about the NCAA Women’s Tournament compared to the men’s tourney is the fact that the first two rounds of the tournament are played at the home venues of the top seed in each quad.

That’s meant that, for each of the last four season, the Bruins have had an opportunity to play two more games at Pauley Pavilion in front of their home fans. While those games are never guaranteed, that means that, after tonight’s game against Oklahoma State, both Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez will have gotten the chance to play eight extra home games during their time in Westwood.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to ask them and a few other players to reflect on their time as Bruins. Specifically, I asked them what advice they would give their younger selves and what they would have done differently. Amazingly, while none of the players were able to hear their teammates’ answers, they were all pretty similar.

Much to my surprise, none of them were able to identify anything they would have done differently. They didn’t even say they would have preferred last year’s game against UConn turn out differently, which is what I was expecting at least one of them to say.

In yesterday’s pre-Round Two press conference, Kiki said she would tell herself to “just to enjoy every moment with your teammates, to stay confident and recognize that like there's obviously going to be a learning curve and there's going to be a lot of growth that you're going to experience throughout the four years that you're here, but that's what's going to make this so special.”

Gabriela Jaquez said she would offer herself this advice:

“Just continue to have fun, and stack days. I think you'll see the improvement. Every day you put in the work like you'll see the improvement. You might not see it tomorrow, but you'll see it.”

Meanwhile, Angela Dugalić was a bit more introspective. She noted, “I wouldn’t do anything differently, just because I am a very firm believer that everything happens for a reason.”

“I would tell myself to just truly enjoy and savor every moment with my team,” she added.

Like Kiki, Jaquez also wouldn’t do anything differently. She explained, “I’m just really proud of my four years here, and excited to have one more game in Pauley.” To that she added, “And a couple more games with her team.”

Speaking for every Bruin fan, we all want four more games with this team after tonight.

Of course, the flip side of playing a final NCAA Tournament game at Pauley Pavilion is playing the first one. On Saturday night, head coach Cori Close played all three UCLA freshmen a little more than she did during the regular season. Sienna Betts played 22 minutes, just one short of Lauren. Meanwhile, the rest of “Slizzy”, the team’s acronym for the freshmen (Sienna Betts, Lena Bilić, and Krizzy Karamouzi), also saw significant time than they usually saw during most of the regular season. Bilić played 13 minutes and Karamouzi played five.

After the game on Saturday, Coach Close spoke about the importance of getting their feet wet early in the tournament.

“I think every tournament, you have an unpredictable person step up in one game or another. I remember for us, it was when Lauren got in foul trouble. I think it was against LSU or against Ole Miss. I can't remember…last year, but there was just a critical time when she had two fouls in the early in the second quarter, and other people had to be ready to step up, and they were. And I think if you don't have some of those moments to draw on, it's a lot harder to do that. And so that was one of the best parts about the game is that everybody got a chance to contribute.”

Yesterday, Sienna Betts spoke about that contribution. She said:

“I’m just really, really happy that we all were able to go in and leave some kind of splash. We’re just such a great team, and we understand our roles, and we understand what the team needs from everyone. We’re just happy to be a part of it in any way that they ask and that the game asks.”

At yesterday’s press conference, after the players were done, head coach Cori Close also addressed the media. Coach Close addressed quite a few different topics including what she sees from Oklahoma State to the way her and her staff are prepping for the Cowgirls compared to how Oklahoma State’s staff is to the joy that Sienna Betts has brought to the program.

On the topic of what she sees from Oklahoma State, Close said:

“I think that what stands out is their ability to shoot the 3, their versatility, their work down the tunnel with the high ball screen. They’re extremely good in transition. It’s going to be so important for us to make them play later into the shot clock, which is going to be easier said than done.”

“But I guess with the exception they don’t have like a really tall big, but they actually remind me in terms of their style and some of the actions that they run of Oklahoma. Their guard play. And one of the big things that we talk a lot about is trying to make them play later in the clock than they’re comfortable with.”

“Now we go through all the analytics, and the later you have them play in the shot clock, the less efficient they become. They’re 13th in the country in offensive efficiency. They’re really, really good. Defensively I think that we obviously need to really hunt the paint. We’ve got some advantages with our size there.”

“But they’re a really good team. I think that they play really hard, and they play -- I was so impressed with how connected they played yesterday against Princeton.”

Following the conclusion of the Oklahoma State-Princeton game on Saturday, Oklahoma State head coach Jacie Holt was watching the Bruin game courtside. Coach Close was asked about whether she prefers to watch a game from the floor or if she learns more from watching tape. Close explained:

“I think it’s a combination. I chose to watch it in the locker room the first game, the Princeton-Oklahoma State game, only because this is our home stadium. So it’s harder for me to sit there and not have somebody come up and say hello -- which of course I love.”

“But to protect myself let alone having other people have to put up with me, I wanted to be so I could really focus. But I think it was the circumstances. If we were on the road, I would probably have been out next to the people who’s responsible for the scout.”

“By the time we get to a game like that, we’ve already broken down ten games, and we’re now just maybe checking for signal calls. We’re making sure they didn’t put anything new in. We’re really tweaking at that point. We’re not game planning at that point. That has pretty much been derived.”

“So I think it’s just a supplemental thing and it’s a comfort thing. I could not thank our video team and our assistant coaches more. I think they are so good at their jobs. There’s a pair that work on each game. Yesterday was Madison Blevins and Soh, our assistant coach, Soh Matsuura. Today is Tony Newnan and Michaela Onyenwere. They’re the pair, the scouting pair.”

“I just, the work they put in, it just sets me up to sort of show up and go, okay, what are we thinking here? How are we going to go about this? As an offensive, co-offensive coordinator, what kind of reads and actions are we preparing for? That’s sort of how I approach it.”

When the players were talking with the media yesterday, there was a bit of a funny situation where Sienna Betts wanted to answer a question about Oklahoma State honestly. At the same time, she didn’t want to say too much. So, she actually asked Kiki if she was allowed to say something, apologizing and quipping that she “never had a question about another team before.” It generated a bit of a laugh from Coach Close who was seated off to the side.

That got Close asked, in contrast to the fact she as so many veteran players on the team, what it’s like to have someone who’s still kind of new.

“That’s pretty much every day with Sienna Betts is new and fun. She is hilarious. I think that I knew some of our additions and what they were going to bring, especially on the court, but I had no idea Sienna and Gianna Kneepkens are so funny. They are hilarious.”

“Sienna, every day it’s something new. Even we were announcing in film she was going to be here with Kiki. All of a sudden, she puts her head on Kiki’s shoulder. It’s just sort of -- I don’t know, she’s just silly in all things Sienna. That’s actually one of the things I love the most about coaching her.”

“I think actually she is so hard on herself and she’s so driven, I think her humor is actually a saving grace for her. It’s sort of a breathe moment. It’s laughter. Because when she’s not smiling and bringing joy, she’s usually beating herself up for a mistake. As she continues to grow in that, I hope it doesn’t have to be her escape, but I just have absolutely enjoyed Sienna so much.”

“I’m really enjoying watching her grow, and it is so fun to see -- this is my 33rd year in Division I coaching. I haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament every one of those, but I’ve been to a lot of them. Moments like that when you get to see how new and fresh and fun this experience is, it keeps me young as well.”

The full video of yesterday’s press conference is courtesy of UCLA Athletics on YouTube.

Go Bruins!!!

Thanks again for supporting The Mighty Bruin. Your paid subscriptions make this site possible. Questions, comments, story ideas, angry missives and more can be sent to @TheMightyBruin on Twitter.

The writing was seemingly on the wall before this game even tipped off.

Less than an hour before the start, reports came out that senior forward Tyler Bilodeau would miss his third-consecutive game with a knee injury. Without their leading scorer, the UCLA Bruins were looking at a very steep mountain to try and overcome as they tried to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

And, to their credit, the Bruins did battle, consistently staring a healthier UConn Huskies team in the face and repeatedly making tough shots to get back in the game, but in the end, it was too much to overcome. The shorthanded Bruins eventually faced one too many UConn runs that they could not overcome, falling 73-57 and ending their season.

The Bruins needed a lot of things to go right to get a victory, and some of them did happen. In particular, Xavier Booker played one of his best games of the season again, finishing with a team-high 13 points on 4-7 shooting while tying for the team lead with five rebounds. On the flip side, he helped keep UConn big Tarris Reed Jr in check; the big man came back to earth with only 10 points on 3-8 shooting (though he did have 13 rebounds on his own). UCLA did not need Booker to explode offensively but they did need him to do his best to even out Reed’s output, and he came close enough that it’s hard to feel bad about it. Shout out to Eric Dailey as well, who tried to fill the hole left by Bilodeau with 12 points and five rebounds if his own, though he started pressing down the stretch.

Unfortunately, that’s about where the good feelings end. The Bruins needed their three-headed hydra of guards to be exceptional, and they were merely fine. Skyy Clark was probably the best, scoring 11 points on 5-8 shooting, but he also had three turnovers. Donovan Dent was similar, also scoring 11 points on an inefficient shooting night (2-9, though he was 6-6 from the free throw line), and while he had nine assists, his two turnovers are his highest total in a month. And none of this gets into the disaster that was Trent Perry, who finished with only five points on 2-8 shooting, routinely looking harried and making mistakes that he had largely looked free of in recent weeks.

It is hard for me to say UCLA struggled with UConn defensively, as they routinely took away the things the Huskies wanted to do offensively. UConn simply hit their shots, including more than a few contested ones, and they bullied the Bruins on the interior, scoring 30 points to only 20 for the Bruins. Rebounding was as much of a problem as you would have expected - the Huskies had 36 rebounds compared to only 24 for the Bruins - but surprisingly the Bruins weren’t killed by second-chance points as you might expect. What helped UCLA was the high amount of turnovers they forced, which limited UConn possessions.

I don’t have much to say about this game, other than it felt like a microcosm of the season. This team had plenty of promise, as we got to glimpse multiple times, but things kept happening that prevented them from putting it all together. And now they enter an uncertain offseason that could make or break the Mick Cronin tenure.

We’ll have a postmortem…probably next week when I go on break. Until then, focus will (rightfully) turn to the women’s team.

Go Bruins.

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