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UCLA women avenge loss to Texas, reach their 1st NCAA Tournament title game

April 4, 2026

PHOENIX — The UCLA women’s basketball team avenged its only loss of the season and redeemed itself from last season’s Final Four loss, beating Texas 51-44 on Friday night to advance to the NCAA Tournament championship game for the first time in program history.

UCLA will square off with fellow top seed South Carolina in the national championship game on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The Gamecocks defeated unbeaten defending champ UConn, 62-48, in Friday’s first semifinal.

All-American center Lauren Betts had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, including a pivotal one with 20 seconds left, to lead UCLA (36-1). Kiki Rice added 11 points while Gianna Kneepkens and Gabriela Jaquez each added 10 points as the Bruins extended their win streak to 30 games.

Kyla Oldacre led top-seeded Texas with 11 points off the bench while grabbing seven rebounds. All-American Madison Booker was held to six points and shot just 3 for 23 from the field, including 0 for 4 from 3-point range.

UCLA’s high-scoring offense (84.9 points per game) was met with a Longhorns defense that had held opponents to 55.9 ppg this season, and none of its first four opponents had scored more than 58 points against them in the NCAA Tournament.

That trend continued, and UCLA’s 51 points was its lowest output in any game this season.

The Bruins had talked all week about being the aggressors early, and they came out with a furious level of play that appeared to shock the Longhorns, who finished the first quarter with just six points.

Gianna Kneepkens banked a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer to get UCLA off to a 7-2 start. Charlisse Leger-Walker hit Angela Dugalić with a no-look pass for a 3-pointer at the 3-minute mark to keep the offense flowing and extend the Bruins’ lead to 12-4.

Texas shot 3 for 14 from the floor and 0 for 2 from behind the arc in the opening quarter. The Longhorns struggled against UCLA’s screens and weren’t able to catch up until the final minutes of the first half.

Texas coach Vic Schaeffer shed his blazer as the second quarter got underway and Rori Harmon started the scoring with a jump shot, but it was Aaliyah Crump’s 3-point shot from the top of the key that cut UCLA’s lead to three points.

The Bruins were unable to score for the final 3:35 of the second quarter and had committed 12 turnovers, which left assistant coach Tasha Brown shouting “we gotta be tough” before heading for the halftime locker room with a 20-17 lead.

Shooting percentages rapidly decreased after the intermission, and each team scored just 11 points in the third quarter. UCLA’s shooting percentage from the floor dipped to 35.1% after hitting 46.2% in the opening frame, and Texas was shooting at a clip of 27.1%.

The Longhorns again came within striking distance of the lead when Justice Carlton made a put-back jumper and was fouled by Lauren Betts for a three-point play opportunity. Rori Harmon, who averages 6.3 assists per game, sent a pass to Carlton for a layup to cut the UCLA lead to 29-28 with 48 seconds left in the third.

The Bruins regrouped and closed the game with the aggressive style of play that they had shown early. A 10-2 run over 3:30 spanning the third and fourth quarters nearly buried the Longhorns.

Betts made two free throws and, 40 seconds later, kicked the ball out to Kiki Rice for a 3-pointer that extended the UCLA lead to 36-28. Leger-Walker – always quick on the trigger – fired a pass to Gabriela Jaquez for a layup and a 10-point lead with 8:37 remaining.

UCLA led by as much as 13 midway through the fourth, but Texas had one last gasp in the final four minutes. The Longhorns put together a 12-2 run to cut the margin to 47-44. Betts subdued the momentum with a block on Booker’s attempted layup with 20 seconds left, and Rice hit two free throws, sending Coach Cori Close’s crew into the title game.

It was the Bruins’ third rematch of the NCAA Tournament after previously playing Minnesota and Duke in the third and fourth rounds. Texas had beaten UCLA, 76-65, on Nov. 26 in the Players Era Women’s Championship in Las Vegas.

The rematch was more like a wrestling match, players hitting the floor and coaches screaming for fouls that weren’t called – just like in the South Carolina-UConn game.

Betts was held to a season-low eight points the first go-round against Texas, but she had some success early in the rematch by attacking before the double-teams arrived. She finished 7 for 10 from the field and was a factor defensively all night.

UCLA is making its 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second consecutive appearance in the Final Four. Texas has now been in the tournament 38 times and in the Final four five times.

The two top-seeded teams were also champions of their respective conferences, with UCLA winning the Big Ten title and Texas winning the SEC title this season.

Orange County Register

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UCLA women avenge loss to Texas, reach their 1st NCAA Tournament title game

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