In a stunning rout, UCLA cruised past South Carolina 79-51 to win the program’s first NCAA women’s basketball national championship Sunday.
Making its first title game since the NCAA adopted women’s basketball as an official sport in 1982, UCLA looked nothing close to tentative or unsure of itself on such a pressure-packed stage — especially against an opponent far more familiar with such a spotlight.
“I’m just so confident in their character, and that’s what determined how they played today,” UCLA coach Cori Close said on ESPN after the win.
UCLA took a 30-15 lead midway through the second quarter, and at halftime its lead stood at 36-23.
Conversely, for all of its experience playing in five title games since 2017, South Carolina struggled to establish comfort either defensively or on offense while making just three of its first 18 shots. At halftime, although Tessa Johnson had made four of her six shots, her four other Gamecocks starters had shot a combined 4-for-19.
UCLA did not relent, leading 44-25 only three minutes into the second half. From there, its advantage grew still while it outscored South Carolina by 16 points in the third quarter to lead by as many as 33 points.
For the second consecutive game, UCLA forced its opponent’s top scorer into a dreadful offensive performance. Two days after watching Madison Booker of Texas miss 17 consecutive shots in one stretch, UCLA held Joyce Edwards of South Carolina to a dismal game, in which Edwards made just three of her 10 shots for eight points.
With her brother, Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., watching from the stands, UCLA star Gabriela Jaquez scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and five assists in a relentless performance that was capped by a late 3-pointer that Jaquez celebrated with a roaring scream before being subbed out for a final time, the game well in hand. Her All-America teammate, Lauren Betts, recovered from breathing struggles during the first half to score 14 points, with 11 rebounds. She was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“We’ve been prepping for this since Sept. 25th. That was when our first practice was,” Jaquez said on ESPN after the game. “And for a long time, we set out for this. I’m just so, so proud. What a great way to end it.”
It was South Carolina’s second consecutive blowout loss in the NCAA final after last year’s 82-59 loss to Connecticut.
