How the UCLA Bruins finally built an NCAA champion

Phoenix – When UCLA If we look back at the weekend it made history, an image will emerge: Lauren Bates running down the court, face driving madison bookerAnd she is jumping with her hands raised high.

Bates’ rejection in the national semifinal against Texas on Friday – a throw ESPN broadcaster Ryan Ruocco described as “a block for the ages” – sealed the Bruins’ spot in their first NCAA title game. On Sunday afternoon, they clinched the title with a 79–51 victory against South Carolina.

Sunday’s game was also not close, with the Bruins dominating from start to finish. UCLA’s seniors scored all 130 points in the Final Four run, and starting with Bates and guard, the starters began fouling out of the title game with more than three minutes remaining. kiki rice. gabriela jacquezGrowing up in Southern California and dreaming of playing for UCLA since childhood, he hit a 3-pointer with 2:55 left and then went to the bench to start the celebration and wipe away a few tears of joy.

For years, UCLA was a successful team that fell short on the biggest stage. From 2016 to 2024, the Bruins stopped in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight six times. UCLA had a good season but it wasn’t great.

This year, all the pieces finally came together with seven seniors, four of whom did not begin their college careers at UCLA, but took the program to the pinnacle of the sport. As his game-saving block on Friday showed, Bates — a 6-foot-7 center who transferred from Stanford to UCLA ahead of the 2023-24 season — was the key piece who fit in perfectly.

“This program has changed my life in the best way,” Bates said entering Sunday’s title game. “I am forever grateful to UCLA. It is the best decision I have ever made.”

But Bates isn’t the only new champion who took a roundabout route to Westwood.

Ahead Angela Dugalic Started in Oregon. Charlisse Leger-Walker started at Washington State and fellow guard Gianna Knipkens In Utah. Another one of this year’s seniors, Megan GrantThere was no need to transfer because she was already at UCLA – playing softball. She joined the hoops program this season with the blessing of the softball staff bring an infectious attitude of joy For the basketball team.

“my responsibility [is] “Put the bricks we have in the right position,” UCLA coach Corey Close said about leading the Bruins’ step-by-step construction over the past 15 seasons. “We’re not just trying to build a wall.”

Instead, Close built a championship team. In the fifth Women’s Final Four with all four No. 1 seeds, the Bruins were the best No. 1, finishing 37–1 and defeating the three-time champion Gamecocks for the title. Jacquez (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Bates (14 and 11) led the way in a game that UCLA never trailed.

“We’ve helped each other through our toughest times, supported each other,” Bates said. “For me, it’s not really about wins and losses, it’s about this whole journey that we’ve had together.”

Rice came to UCLA as the No. 2 recruit in the country in 2022, at the same time the No. 1 recruit, Bates, was going to Stanford. They thought they would be rivals in the Pac-12. He finished his college career as a teammate, winning conference and national championships.

“It’s really cool to be able to play at Pauley Pavilion and be able to look around every time we step on that court and see all the old jerseys and national championship banners. It means a lot to add to that legacy,” Rice said.

when bates left One year later, in 2023, Stanford’s confidence was shattered. She still struggled during her first season with the Bruins, but due to mental health issues she was released from R.determined both his life and his basketball career.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned these past three seasons at UCLA is to always believe in what I’m capable of and to surround myself with good people,” Bates said.

“No matter what I do on the court, it won’t diminish my value as a person. I have people who love me, no matter how many points I score.”

That peace of mind has helped Bates reach his potential on the court. A first-team All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons, Bates was the Big Ten Player of the Year this season as well. They are expected to be selected high in the first round at the WNBA Draft on April 13 and Rice, Jacquez, Leger-Walker, Neepkens and Dugalic could also be selected.

Bates’ block against Booker in Friday’s semifinals is a highlight reel example of the type of high-impact play she makes almost regularly. If Bates’ timing had not been perfect, the Longhorns might have had a three-point play and a tied game. Instead, Bates got the block, caught the ball and passed it to Rice, who was eager to get fouled and go to the line to seal the win with a free throw.

“He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen,” Leger-Walker said of Bates. “When she does something like that, it’s a change of pace. We rely on her a lot for things like this, and she’s consistent with it.”

It also felt like a symbolic moment: officially exorcising the demons of last year’s semifinals, when UCLA lost to UConn 85-51, a disappointing end to one of the best stories of the season. Bates was the only Bruin to score in double figures with 26 points.

But players say they were inspired when last season’s long-awaited Final Four trip didn’t go as they hoped. Leger-Walker was with the Bruins at the time, though she sat out that season to treat a knee injury she suffered while with Washington State in January 2024. Neepkens was watching the 2025 Final Four from afar, knowing she was ready to transfer from Utah.

“Then I expected to get into this position,” Neepkens said.

Rice and Jacquez, the two remaining Bruins from the coveted five-player freshman class in the fall of 2022, also remained out of confidence they could reach that pinnacle.

“That was always the plan for me and Kiki coming to UCLA as freshmen: get to the Final Four, win a national championship,” said Jacquez, whose brother, Jaime Jr., played for the Bruins’ men’s team and is now with the NBA’s Miami Heat.

“I never thought about transferring. Some people asked me, ‘Why did you stay?’ I said, ‘Why would I go?’ I like UCLA.”

“It shows the strong relationship they have with Corey,” South Carolina coach Don Staley said of Jacquez and Rice. “That means they’re the cornerstone of their rise to this level. There’s nothing stronger than that belief and that loyalty to stick with the program you were in.”

Stop, a californic The native, who played at UC Santa Barbara, was an assistant at UCLA in the early 1990s and was introduced to legendary UCLA men’s coach John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA titles. He died in 2011, a year before returning to take the helm of UCLA women’s after being an assistant at Florida State.

His philosophy always resonated with him. It’s easy to imagine Wooden Close loving the Bruins, who have now delivered their second national championship to the UCLA women’s program.

For the first time in 1978, women’s basketball was governed by the NCAA. Led by Hall of Famer Ann Meyers Drysdale, the Bruins went 27–3 and captured the AIAW championship with a 90–74 victory over Maryland. The NCAA era did not begin until 1982.

These Bruins are very intentional about acknowledging their hoops ancestors.

“This is an opportunity for us to shine that light on them and say, ‘We see you, we appreciate you. You’re part of why we’re here,'” Close said. “Many of the women from that team are here in the building, they are our season-ticket holders.”

Meyers Drysdale, a longtime affiliate of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, was on the field for the Bruins game this weekend.

“I’m very proud to see this team perform at their best when their best was needed,” Meyers Drysdale told ESPN on Sunday. “Corey is an incredible coach and representative for our game – his preparation and the belief that these young women have for each other, their sacrifice and their selflessness. Corey has built an amazing foundation. Very proud of them all.”

The pioneers of 1978 will always be respected in UCLA women’s basketball. Now the greatness of the program has been officially updated.

Bates burst out laughing as she tried to explain one of her favorite things about Close.

Bates said, smiling, “The rings will collect dust and – what’s it called? – Banners. Banners – anything. The memories you make… uh, something like that. She says that all the time.” “It’s a beautiful message, but I hear it a lot.”

Close later provided the actual quote: “Banners hang in the gym and rings collect dust, but what you become and who you impact is what you’ll always remember.”

True, but UCLA now also has NCAA championship banners and rings that can be kept forever.