Gabriela Jaquez leads UCLA past South Carolina to 1st women’s basketball national title since 1978

PHOENIX — For the first time in a long time, a Division 1 college basketball national championship team resides in Westwood. 

UCLA women’s basketball routed South Carolina 79-51 in downtown Phoenix on Sunday to claim the school’s first national championship in women’s basketball since 1978. The victory also marked the school’s first basketball title in general since 1995.  

This national championship was UCLA’s first since women’s college hoops began being governed by the NCAA in the 1981-82 season.  

“I’ve been saying it all day but I don’t even know how else to say it: it’s immeasurably more than I could ask (for) or imagine,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said. “I’m really grateful. It’s not about me.

“It’s about watching these incredible young women be dream chasers, to watch them grow in ways that they will remember and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives.”

The Lady Bruins busted a move to celebrate their dominant win over South Carolina and NCAA title.

Last year’s was UCLA’s first NCAA Final Four, capitalizing to win it all this year after dancing all the way back. pic.twitter.com/2maoytksQm

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) April 5, 2026

Sometimes basketball comes down to which team can make its open looks and which team cannot. This was the case Sunday at Mortgage Matchup Center. 

The Bruins shot 43.5% in the game while South Carolina shot 29%, missing makeable attempt after makeable attempt.   

UCLA’s win was a collective effort by their group of talented seniors but it was forward Gabriela Jaquez whose play rose above the rest.  

Jaquez seemed to be near the action throughout, including a moment early in the game when she soared in to grab an offensive rebound and made the ensuing layup despite being fouled.  

Jaquez flirted with a triple-double, scoring 21 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out five assists.

“For me, just really focusing on defense and rebounding,” Jaquez said. “That was a big part of our scouting report. I had open shots and I made them. I think that was just kind of what it was.

“Just super proud of this group and how we played as a team to get this victory.”

The senior’s rebounding effort was part of a masterclass on the glass by the Bruins. UCLA dominated the boards, 49-37. The Bruins had 21 offensive rebounds and 25 second-chance points.  

Their 28-point win was the third-largest in national championship game history. The 37-1 Bruins ended the season on a 31-game winning streak.

For South Carolina, the loss marks the second consecutive season the Gamecocks have been blown out in the national title game.  

Last season, South Carolina was stomped 82-59 by Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and UConn in the championship game in Tampa, Florida.

Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley will have to wait at least another season to join Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey in the group of Division 1 women’s basketball coaches with four national titles.  

“I thought (the Bruins) came out and disrupted from a defensive standpoint,” Staley said. “Then they pretty much got what they wanted offensively. When they did it, they created second-chance opportunities.

“We just didn’t have it today. They were the better team today. Congratulations to them.”

John Wooden’s legacy lives on at UCLA

When one thinks about UCLA basketball, legendary men’s coach John Wooden comes to mind.

Wooden, who died in 2010, led the Bruins to 10 national titles in the 1960s and 1970s. He coached legendary players, such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

Close, who had a relationship with Walton, spoke about how the icon would have reacted to this season’s women’s title.

“I think coach Wooden actually wouldn’t care as much about the championship as much as he would about staying true to our process,” Close said. “I hope I would make him proud by realizing and recognizing that this is a by-product of what’s happened in their habits, in their love for each other, in committing to a process over a long period of time.

“When you just look at how the pyramid of success is built, the foundations, I just think he would be way more interested in hearing about that journey than he would about the final product because he knows that’s a by-product of what was happening on the inside.”

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