1 month ago
The UCLA Bruins person made history by clinching their first-ever NCAA Women’s Basketball title aft dominating nan South Carolina Gamecocks 79-51 astatine nan Mortgage Matchup Center successful Phoenix, Ariz. earlier today.
While nan Big Ten Conference squad had ne'er won nan title since nan student athletics statement adopted women’s hoops arsenic an charismatic athletics successful 1982, nan Bruins’ triumph was decisive, arsenic they took connected a 36-23 lead astatine halftime. The Bruins are nan first caller champions of nan NCAA era pursuing South Carolina’s inaugural triumph successful 2017.
The favored-to-win Gamecocks struggled to gel offensively and defensively arsenic they looked to triumph their 4th title. UCLA antecedently showed nan longest odds to triumph nan tourney coming into nan Final Four. Last season, nan Bruins had precocious to their first Final Four, wherever they were hit retired by eventual champion, nan UConn Huskies.
UCLA features 5 elder starters — Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens — and six players who are apt to beryllium drafted into nan WNBA travel adjacent week. (Jaquez led each scorers pinch 21 points, while Kneepkens added 15 points and Betts achieved a double-double pinch 14 points and 11 rebounds.) They comprise nan first group to gain a title for nan UCLA women since nan Ann Meyers Drysdale-led 1978 AIAW nationalist title triumph successful nan pre-NCAA era.
The Bruins person now won NCAA championships successful 11 different women’s sports, and its hoops triumph adds a 46th wide title for nan university’s women’s teams successful nan NCAA era.
Speaking to nan Los Angeles Times up of nan weekend, elder halfway Betts said of nan last game: “I deliberation successful nan backmost of our heads, we each cognize that this is our past spell astatine this. It’s each aliases thing for each of us.”
The squad was led to March Madness triumph by Cori Close, successful her 15th play arsenic nan UCLA women’s hoops coach.
