UCLA women's basketball dominated South Carolina 79-51 Sunday night to claim its first-ever NCAA championship, capping a 31-game winning streak under coach Cori Close with the program's most important victory.
The Bruins never trailed against the Gamecocks, opening a double-digit lead after the first quarter and building a commanding 36-23 halftime advantage. The 28-point margin of victory ranks as the third-largest in championship game history.
All five UCLA senior starters registered double-digit scoring, led by senior guard Gabriela Jaquez's 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Star center Lauren Betts earned Most Outstanding Player honors with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
"We were determined, the core group, to do something UCLA hadn't done before in the NCAA era," Jaquez said postgame. "We always believed."
The victory punctuates head coach Cori Close's multi-year plan to build a championship program. Close assembled her roster through multiple channels, recruiting rising talents like Jaquez and guard Kiki Rice from high school while adding Betts, Gianna Kneepkens, and Charlisse Leger-Walker via the transfer portal.
"It's immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine," Close said after winning the 2026 NCAA women's championship. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."
UCLA last won a national title in women's basketball in 1978 when the AIAW governed the sport. Ann Meyers Drysdale, who led that championship team, attended Sunday's game as the Bruins made NCAA history.
The Bruins held the Gamecocks to 9-of-35 shooting in the first half while dominating the paint, limiting Joyce Edwards to just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Cori Close became the longest-tenured single-program head coach to capture a first championship in the win. The victory also avenged last year's double-digit semifinal loss while fulfilling the senior class's mission to bring UCLA its first NCAA crown.
