The UCLA women's basketball team is getting the Hollywood treatment, with FOX Sports announcing on Wednesday that the network will debut a documentary on the Bruins entitled You See L.A. on Sunday, March 1st.
The one-hour special promises viewers "an intimate, all-access look" into the Bruins' program-first run to the 2025 Final Four — including "the human stories, emotional stakes, and deep community surrounding" the team — as well as this season's continued success.
"This film is not only about a remarkable season on the court, but also about leadership, community, the power of women's sports, and the resolve of a team representing something bigger than themselves," said FOX Sports VP of development and original programming Barry Nugent in this week's release.
Starring UCLA head coach Cori Close alongside standout players Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, and Kiki Rice, the film sets out to define the Bruins' basketball culture, with commentary from legends of the sport like Reggie Miller and Candace Parker.
"This film shines a light on the strongest part of UCLA women's basketball: our people," said Close. "You See L.A. celebrates the character, courage, and competitive fire that defined last season, and I couldn't be more proud for the world to witness the humanity behind our success."
How to watch the UCLA basketball documentary You See L.A.
You See L.A. will premiere immediately following the No. 2 Bruins' final 2025/26 regular-season game against crosstown rival USC.
The game will tip off at 6 PM ET, with the documentary expected to air at approximately 8 PM ET, both on FS1.
With just seven regular-season NCAA basketball games left on their 2025/26 schedule, No. 2 UCLA is nearing a perfect Big Ten run, extending their season's conference winning streak to 11 behind a dominant 88-65 win over No. 8 Iowa on Sunday.
Bruins reserve forward Angela Dugalić led the game with 22 points off the bench, as UCLA scored 56 points in the paint behind strong front-court play.
"Angela [Dugalić] earned every single thing that happened today. Her work ethic is just undeniable," said UCLA head coach Cori Close following Sunday's victory. "The thing I'm so proud of is her consistency… doing the simplest things with elite consistency, that's where I've seen the growth in her."
After falling just short of last year's Big Ten regular-season title, UCLA is now riding a perfect conference record, with four of their final seven games taking place at home.
As for the Hawkeyes, their 0-2 SoCal road trip ended their season's unbeaten Big Ten run, with one-conference-loss No. 9 Michigan leapfrogging Iowa in the Big Ten basketball standings as the Wolverines prepare for their own Sunday showdown with UCLA.
"We're not taking any team for granted," said Dugalić. "At the end of the day, if you're our next opponent, that's who we're concentrating on."
How to watch UCLA women's basketball this week
Before hitting the road to face No. 9 Michigan and No. 13 Michigan State next week, the No. 2 Bruins will host unranked Rutgers at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on B1G+.
The 2025/26 Big Ten basketball regular-season title race is heating up, as Sunday's top-ranked clash sees No. 2 UCLA hosting a No. 8 Iowa team reeling from an 81-69 upset loss to unranked USC on Thursday.
While still unbeaten in conference play, the Bruins are coming off a close call of their own, defeating a tough Illinois side 80-67 on Wednesday — UCLA's tightest margin of victory against an unranked opponent so far this season.
"If [Illinois] can stick together… fight the urge to choose themselves or to look elsewhere… they can be in a really special place," UCLA head coach Cori Close said afterwards.
Despite entering the AP Poll's Top 10 for the first time since the Caitlin Clark era, Iowa suffered its first Big Ten loss of the 2025/26 season this week.
The Hawkeyes slipped quickly into foul trouble, as star USC freshman Jazzy Davidson notched 21 points with Iowa forced to rotate their front court.
"We were out of sync to start," Iowa assistant coach LaSondra Barrett said on the postgame broadcast. "Foul trouble was a big thing with Hannah [Stuelke] picking up those two early."
How to watch Iowa vs. UCLA this weekend
The No. 8 Hawkeyes visit the No. 2 Bruins on Sunday, with the pair tipping off live at 5 PM ET on FOX.
Looking back, UCLA coach Cori Close has mixed emotions about her team’s 2024/25 campaign.
Featuring one of the most talented starting fives in the sport, the team made historic strides all the way to a program-first Final Four appearance. But last season also served up a bittersweet ending.
The Bruins saw their dream postseason unceremoniously ended by eventual national champions UConn in an 85-51 rout. Highly touted but inexperienced on the big stage, UCLA nearly reached the mountaintop before a rough tumble, stirring up questions about the team’s ability to hang with the NCAA’s blue chip establishment.
“There’s nothing like having a historic season, and falling a little bit short,” head coach Cori Close told JWS in October. “The hunger to do it better, but also the attention to detail that it really takes.”
“It’s one thing to know things in your head, it’s a whole other thing to have them in your heart,” she continued. “And I think our team has a higher degree of these things in our heart.”
With renewed focus and deepened experience — plus an even more complete roster that can run the court against just about anyone — the Bruins just might reach the mountaintop again in 2026.
Following another strong offseason recruiting cycle, UCLA currently sits fourth in the AP Top 25 Poll after ranked wins over No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 19 Ohio State, and No. 23 Tennessee. And now the reigning Big Ten Tournament champions are setting their sights on conference play — with Saturday’s showdown with Southern California rivals No. 17 USC front of mind.
From here on out, attention to detail could make all the difference in how this season’s story ends.
UCLA is on a mission to reduce turnovers and own the glass
Before the 2024/25 season even began, coach Close already knew exactly where her team needed to improve.
The Bruins played a fast-paced style last year, facilitating ball movement inside and out with skill players at every position. This year, Close believed her squad could excel in terms of discipline, rather than sheer talent.
“We went back and studied the last five national championship teams and talked about trends that we see that they all have, that maybe we’ve fallen short in,” she said. “We figured that we need to turn the ball over three fewer times a game.”
Defense also plays a factor. “When you really trace championship teams, they have to be dominant in their rebounding,” she added. “We have a goal to get 70 to 75% of the misses.”
13 games into the season, UCLA hasn’t quite achieved all their goals. But they are showing potential. They’re slightly up in average rebounds with 44.1 per game, while lowering average turnovers by more than three per game.
But the team’s limitations against top talent reared its head in their November 26th loss to No. 2 Texas. UCLA grabbed only 32 rebounds while committing 20 turnovers — nearly double their season average.
“I was really honest with [the players],” Close said after the 76-65 defeat. “There’s some things we’ve been talking about that haven’t gotten enough change. Maybe this will get us to change some things that led to this.”
The threat of not sizing up against the best of the best fresh in their minds, UCLA has subsequently looked stronger. They reduced their turnovers even more against then-No. 14 Tennessee in late November, before dominating the boards against No. 19 Ohio State last Sunday.
“We have an abundance of growth opportunities, we have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other,” Close told JWS.
“We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week. We’re going to just stay focused on those.”
The Lauren Betts blueprint: Efficiency over minutes
Reaching UCLA’s goals relies on team-wide commitment — and figuring out the best way to utilize the team’s biggest star.
The Bruins have a wealth of elite guards, with upperclassmen like Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez running the backcourt. But it’s no secret that the team’s attack and defense runs through 6-foot-8 All-American center Lauren Betts.
The senior is a global talent. She made her USA Basketball debut in December, and is shortlisted to become the 2026 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick once her decorated college career comes to an end.
One of the most dominant two-way bigs in the college game, Betts averaged a near-20-point, 10-rebound double-double last season. She’s an attention magnet on the court, disrupting play at the rim with the motor needed to finish the work back up the court.
Ironically, though, to get the most out of Betts, Close has found she has to actually limit her time on the floor.
“When Lauren and I had our exit evaluation meetings last year, we both agreed that she needs to have less minutes,” said Close. “And honestly maybe even less shots, but more efficiency.”
“As a 6-foot-8 player, you get beat up so much before she even touches the ball,” Close continued. “I think it’s important that we protect her wherever we can.”
Betts is aware that physicality can sometimes throw her off her game. She’s now pushing to hone her tenacity at the rim while leveraging her size through double- or triple-teams.
“Just playing the game, making the right read, is something that’s really important for me, trusting that I know what to do on the floor,” Betts at reporters from USA Basketball training camp last month.
“Also aggressiveness, I think that’s something that I can always grow into.”
UCLA enters 2026 with fresh faces — and family ties
Close sees Betts at her best with nothing to prove individually and a little extra help under the basket. And they worked hard over the offseason to get her that support, shaking things up via both traditional recruiting and the transfer portal.
Take senior transfer Gianna Kneepkins, for example. The former Utah standout is giving the Bruins a scoring boost with 14.3 points per game while carrying minutes alongside more established starters.
“She’s been a pivotal puzzle piece for us in terms of having a 50/40/90 player that’s really able to stretch the floor. She’s making everybody better around her,” Close said of Kneepkins, as the newcomer provides a tall outside presence in the paint.
Close also credits second-year transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker. She’s bolstered the team off the bench after sitting out last season to rehab her ACL.
Betts’s biggest supporter, however, stems from a little closer to home. Lauren’s little sister Sienna, the No. 2 recruit in her class, joined the Bruins this season. And she shares many of her older sister’s attributes on the court.
Listed at 6-foot-4, the freshman can stretch defenses even without her big sister on the court, strengthening UCLA’s reach through negative runs while forcing opponents to game-plan for even more frontcourt power
“[I’m] just trying to help her as much as I can,” Lauren said of her sister prior to the season start. “Especially because we’re playing kind of the same position. Just trying to help her with the plays, help her with tough practices, kind of helping her move on.”
Unfortunately, a lower leg injury delayed Sienna’s college debut by 10 games. The younger Betts missed the loss to Texas, slowing down some of the flow Close is looking to build against a big-heavy lineup. But the plan for the Betts sisters is still very much in motion, even with limited playing time.
Reverse engineering success, one UCLA game at a time
Entering the new year with a healthy roster, UCLA will now have to balance expectations both inside and outside the locker room. Because regardless of how the season ends, significant change looms on the horizon.
“I think it’s really tempting to be championship or bust, and that could not be further from our mission,” Close explained.
“I am such a big believer that you talk about your end goal one time. And then you reverse engineer the process and habits it’s going to take to get there.”
“Just staying present, recognizing that this is also a new team,” senior Kiki Rice told JWS in October. “After what happened last year, there’s lessons in the past. [But we] really just focus on being our best versions of ourselves every day.”
UCLA might have fallen short against Texas last month. But they maintain faith that increased depth, veteran leadership, and a refreshed detail-oriented outlook can guide them all the way through the postseason.
“There were certain levels of preparation, certain ways that we needed to minimize distractions, certain ways we needed to handle all of the ways that are going to be pulling on our attention,” Close said of the team’s Final Four journey, noting that she also learned some major lessons herself.
For now, UCLA is enjoying the moment — and the process — with the hope that the wins keep coming this spring.
“This is probably the most complete team I’ve ever coached,” Close added. “If we can stay healthy and stay focused, we’re going to have big things ahead.”
After crashing out of their first-ever Final Four last season, No. 3 UCLA enters their 2025/26 campaign with heightened promise and added depth as the new-look Bruins take aim at another deep NCAA basketball tournament run.
"This is probably the most complete team I've ever coached, and I think if we can stay healthy and stay focused, we're going to have big things ahead," head coach Cori Close told JWS ahead of this week's season tip-off.
"We have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other," she continued. "We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week, and we're going to stay focused on those."
The Bruins' success could hinge on next year's projected No. 1 WNBA draft pick Lauren Betts, though Close indicated that teamwork would be key to unlocking the senior center's full potential.
"We both agreed she needs to have less minutes than in the past, and honestly, maybe even less shots, but more efficiency," said Close. "Everybody wins that way, including Lauren."
Recent transfers like former Utah forward Gianna Kneepkins and ex-Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker should balance the 2025/26 UCLA basketball lineup alongside top freshman recruit — and Betts's little sister — Sienna.
How to watch UCLA basketball this week
While forward Sienna's NCAA debut has been postponed due to a lower leg injury, UCLA fans can catch the elder Betts and the rest of the No. 3 Bruins in action against unranked UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday, streaming live on B1G+.
USC sophomore JuJu Watkins took home the 2025 Naismith Player of the Year award on Wednesday. The guard subsequently rose above a wealth of talent after a parity-heavy season that saw success spread across multiple conferences.
“We at Jersey Mike’s extend our congratulations to JuJu Watkins for her phenomenal accomplishment,” said Jeff Hemschoot, vice president of marketing at Naismith awards partner Jersey Mike’s. “Her extraordinary talent and significant influence on the court are unparalleled, and we are thrilled to honor her exceptional achievements with this prestigious recognition.”
Beating out NCAA superstars like Paige Bueckers and Hannah Hidalgo, Watkins averaged 23.9 points a game this season. She led the top-seeded Trojans through the NCAA tournament before tearing her ACL in the second round.
Watkins also won Big Ten Player of the Year, becoming USC's first conference POY since Cherie Nelson in 1988.
“This is just the beginning and I can’t wait for what’s ahead,” Watkins said after receiving the prestigious Naismith award. “Thank you so much again and fight on.”
Big Ten racks up 2025 Naismith awards
The Big Ten swept the annual end-of-year awards for the first time in history. In addition to USC, No. 1 overall seed UCLA's also saw their impact reflected beyond the scoreboard.
Bruins junior Lauren Betts won 2025 Defensive Player of the Year. The junior center also picked up Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selection this season.
Cori Close earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding UCLA to a Big Ten tournament title and a top-seeded NCAA tournament berth.
“JuJu’s exceptional prowess, Cori’s unwavering guidance, and Lauren’s relentless defensive prowess mean each is worthy of this year’s Naismith awards,” said Eric Oberman, president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Their outstanding achievements have rightfully earned them the most esteemed accolades in college basketball. We take great pride in acknowledging their unshakeable commitment and remarkable abilities.”
“May our work in the win and loss column always pale in comparison to the work we do to help teach, mentor and equip for life beyond the hardwood,” Close said in a statement.
UCLA will hit the court for their first-ever NCAA Final Four on Friday, but as they extend the most successful season in program history, the Bruins have looked anything but green.
“We said talent was going to be our floor,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said after Sunday’s Elite Eight win over LSU. “Our character, our chemistry, our habits were going to be our ceiling.”
With just two losses on the season, UCLA’s status as a first-rate NCAA title contender has actually been years in the making.
Roster-building paves the way to the Final Four
In 2022, the Bruins signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, stacking their roster with top high school standouts Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, and Londynn Jones.
UCLA then upped their game even further last year, when 2022 No. 1 overall recruit Lauren Betts transferred in from Stanford — a move that fueled the Bruins all the way to the Sweet 16 with the promise of even greater success.
“Everyone came to UCLA for this reason: to do something we haven't done in a really long time,” Jaquez said on Sunday. “[I’m] just really proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches, just continuing to get better every day and grow from each season prior.
With Lauren Betts at center, UCLA leans on depth
As one of the most dominant post players in college basketball, Betts is at the literal center of every UCLA performance. But that doesn’t mean the Bruins lack the depth it takes to handle a team like Final Four opponent UConn.
“When we have a deep team, I don’t have to be in the game at all times,” Betts said. “I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented in their own right, and they put in the work.”
All in all, UCLA is coming into their own after developing much of its squad from the ground-up. Now it's time to make the case that patient roster-building can pay off on NCAA basketball’s biggest stage.
Headlining an NCAA basketball weekend rife with upsets, South Carolina lost for the first time since the 2023 Final Four on Sunday. The Gamecocks fell 77-62 to then-No. 5 UCLA, snapping a 43-game winning streak in the largest loss by an AP No. 1 team since 2020.
"I thought our kids fought, but we ran into a buzzsaw today," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley after the game.
After rocketing to a 43-22 lead at the half, UCLA's defense stepped up to combat the defending champions' second-half surge and secure the victory. The Bruins forced the Gamecocks to commit the same number of turnovers as assists at 13, all while out-rebounding them 41-34.
South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao led all scoring with 18 points, but UCLA put together a true team effort, with five Bruins draining double-digits in their first-ever program win over the Gamecocks.
Notre Dame tips off the NCAA basketball upset party
Underdogs earned wins in both of the weekend's Top-10 matchups, with then-No. 6 Notre Dame defeating then-No. 3 USC 74-61 on Saturday.
Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo put together a game-leading performance of 24 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and five steals. Together with star teammate Olivia Miles, who added 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, the Irish quieted a stacked USC lineup featuring stars JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen.
"Big-time player, big-time stage," said Fighting Irish head coach Nielle Ivey about Hidalgo. "Not at all shocked what she did today."
NCAA upsets shake up AP poll
Fueled by their historic win over 2024 champions South Carolina, UCLA claimed the No. 1 spot in Monday's AP Top 25 for the first time in school history. At the same time, the Gamecocks fell to No. 4 after holding the top position for 61 of the last 62 polls.
"We came here saying we want to be an elite basketball program and to be in that company as the 26th program ever to be a No. 1 team is significant," UCLA coach Cori Close commented after the AP standings were released. "I’m grateful."
Notre Dame and USC fully swapped their rankings after the Irish victory, entering Week 4 of the NCAA season at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
Elsewhere, stellar defense earned WNBA star Caitlin Clark's alma mater Iowa its AP poll season debut at No. 22 while state rival Iowa State suffered the largest rankings fall, plummeting seven spots to No. 15 after dropping 87-75 to unranked Northern Iowa last week.
While the bulk of college basketball's elite 25 teams saw minor one-spot shifts, No. 2 UConn was one of only four squads to hold steady, with the Huskies recently celebrating their program's sustained dominance behind the now-winningest NCAA basketball coach in history, Geno Auriemma.
No. 2 UCLA basketball remains undefeated this season, in no small part due to Kiki Rice’s contributions against No. 6 UConn.
The sophomore guard dropped 24 points en route to her program’s first-ever win against the Huskies. She also grabbed 11 rebounds and eight assists. She led her squad to its fifth win of the season in its toughest match so far, 78-67.
“We wanted her to come out with an attack mentality,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said to Michael Voepel. “She has put so much work in. She’s just been a rock star for us.”
Charisma Osborne and Lauren Betts also showed out at the Cayman Islands Classic with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
“We really were confident that if we executed the game plan, that we were going to win,” Close said to the Associated Press. “I say that with great respect (for UConn) but I really believe in what this team is building.”
Paige Bueckers had a standout night for the Huskies, leading all scorers with her 31 points — almost half of UConn’s total. But no one else on the team scored more than 11 points. And head coach Geno Auriemma does not believe that is enough to win games.
“You can’t beat a really good team with one player,” Auriemma said. “It was disappointing that we didn’t get more contributions from more people. Our combinations are all screwed up right now, so that’s got to get sorted out.. We struggled, we had our runs, we just didn’t have enough.”