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From heartbreak to history: UCLA completes redemption with NCAA title
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- From heartbreak to history: UCLA completes redemption with NCAA title
PHOENIX — UCLA women's basketball's senior core had one more crack at an elusive NCAA national championship.
One last dance, if you will.
After the Bruins were knocked out of the 2025 Final Four in blowout fashion, Lauren Betts , Kiki Rice , Gabriela Jaquez , Charlisse Leger-Walker and Angela Dugalic opted to return to UCLA to run it back one final time. UCLA didn't let the moment pass and dismantled South Carolina 79-51 to win the program's first NCAA national championship in Phoenix on Sunday, April 5.
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"Today was just a fantastic display of our resilience, intensity that we came out. Just our will to win," said senior guard Kiki Rice, who finished with 10 points in the win. "We had a feeling this was our time, this was our year
"There's no better way that we could hope to end our career."
UCLA grinded out some ugly NCAA tournament wins in their march to the program's first national championship appearance. There was the Bruins' comeback Elite 8 win over Duke or UCLA's 51-44 slugfest against Texas . But UCLA delivered a complete 40 minutes of Bruins' basketball when it mattered most. UCLA's seven seniors — including the team's entire starting lineup — would not be denied.
UCLA head coach Cori Close said she pulled Betts aside ahead of tipoff to tell her, "No matter what happens today, I'll always be more proud of who she's become and who she's impacted than any net will ever cut down." Although Close said the game's outcome wouldn't define Betts' legacy or UCLA's journey, both Close and Betts knew how the game would end before they ever stepped foot on the court.
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"Yesterday I knew that we were going to win just because we were so focused," Betts said. "When you have a certain energy in practice, you wake up the next morning, you're like, 'We have done everything you can possibly do to be ready for a game.' It's just like the confidence that you have."
UCLA put an emphasis on coming out aggressive against South Carolina in Sunday's national championship game. The Bruins outscored the Gamecocks 21-10 in the first quarter and led by as many as 15 points in the first half. UCLA's lead ballooned to 20 midway through the third quarter handled by as many as 35 points in the win.
"As soon as we came out the first couple minutes, everyone was just locking in on what they needed to do, winning their one-on-one matches. Rebounds were crucial. Yeah, I could tell from the very beginning," Betts said. "When we find a way to play together and play selflessly, do what we do, no one can stop us. You guys saw that."
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The Bruins were firing on all cylinders. All five of UCLA's starters reached double-digits in scoring. Jaquez had a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds in her second double-double of the season. Gianna Kneepkens had 15, Lauren Betts added a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, in addition to 10 points each from Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kiki Rice. Angela Dugalic added nine points off the bench.
"The joy we have and the love we have for each other has really motivated us this whole season because we just want to do it for each other," Jaquez said. "Since the roster was made, we just knew we had the tools. It was just about staying focused and working hard every day to be the best versions of ourselves. We continue to talk about going 1-0, taking it one game at a time, being our best selves. That led us to this moment."
Jaquez and Rice are a rarity in the modern landscape of college basketball, where NIL deals and the transfer portal has created high turnover year after year. But Jaquez and Rice spent the entirety of their four-year career at UCLA and chose to return following last year's Final Four return.
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Rice still remembers the first day she walked into Close's office. They talked about where they wanted to take the program. "We want to win national championships, play in Final Fours," Rice recalled on Sunday, while wearing ski googles after their locker room championship shower.
"Coming in being freshmen, that was the plan to cut down nets. I think we talked about it a lot," Jaquez added. "I pictured this moment many times, being a national champion. To do it with this group, it just really means everything."
Close praised her team's loyalty and selflessness for seeing their shared vision through. "It's just so rare in life that you can start a journey with a group of people and really envision something. It's just really with great humility. Man, we are so fortunate to be experiencing that. They earned every bit of it," she said.
Betts transferred to UCLA in 2023 following one season at Stanford , a move she called "the best decision I ever made. Betts said she arrived in Los Angeles with "zero confidence" and her passion her basketball suffered.
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"When I came in my sophomore year, I was completely different than I am today. I showed up and ... I wasn't sure if I wanted to really, like, play basketball for that much longer," Betts revealed. "Coach Cori really stayed patient with me. She wanted to see me accomplish everything that I'd ever dreamed of. They just continued to remind me, they want me to see myself the way they all see me. I feel like now at this point I can finally truly do that."
Betts watched last season's Final Four loss at least 10 times, but the amount of times she plans to rewatch this historic victory will likely surpass that.
"Everyone understood the moment. Never had to question that we weren't going to go out there and be ready," Betts said. "You could tell on everyone's faces how bad we wanted it. When duty called, everyone answered, so I'm just really proud of this group."
Reach USA TODAY National Women's Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson .
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UCLA seniors deliver first women's national title in dominant fashion
