PHOENIX — Among Cori Close’s many clichéd yet crucial motivational phrases, one stands out amid the flurry of confetti being dropped and trophies being raised.
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.
That would be legendary coach John Wooden, a 10-time NCAA men’s champion whom Close met and had contact with multiple times in the 1990s. Every time she goes to Pauley Pavilion for practice, she sees these banners.
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That includes the 1978 AIAW women’s championship team, a team often forgotten in history since the NCAA took over women’s sports in 1982. Close frequently texted with Ann Meyers Drysdale, Denise Curry and Debbie Willie Haliday. Many of these champions are season ticket holders.
Starting now, that includes Close and her 2026 UCLA women’s roster. The Bruins defeated South Carolina 79-51 on Sunday at Mortgage Matchup Arena in Phoenix to capture their first championship in the NCAA era.
It’s the second title in Big Ten history, joining the 1999 Purdue team, and the second time in the past eight NCAA tournaments that the women’s team has won its first title. Close was the WBCA Coach of the Year and became the longest-tenured coach at a school before winning “Chips.”
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“I wonder what that would feel like,” Close said. “I did hope we were going to win today. I thought about it a few times. I thought, we’re going to win. I felt really calm all day long. It wasn’t a matter of if we got the W. I wanted us to be able to play our best when our best was needed. We did.”
There is no room for error. It’s not about history; This is a reduction in opportunity and time. The Bruins’ top six are all seniors. There have been four transfers in the past four years, including Gianna Nipkens and Angela Dugalic, who filled in. With the jump to pro looming, there’s already a sense that a pro roster that knows its core will fall apart in due course.
They didn’t succumb to the pressure, beating the doubters after a crushing loss to Connecticut in the first Final Four 366 days ago in Tampa, Florida.
In their first NCAA championship game, no such defeat had occurred. The Bruins made no mistake, jumping out to a quick 13-4 lead and never losing any momentum en route to a 35-point lead. The seniors scored every one of their 79 points during their graduation party on center court.
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“We knew, we had a feeling, this was our time, this was our year,” guard Kiki Rice said. “We were there all weekend and we weren’t going to be turned away.”
PHOENIX, AZ – APRIL 5: UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close waves in front of the net after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on April 5, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
(Ben Solomon via Getty Images)
They became the eighth team in the past 30 years to win in their national championship game debut, relying on the rare talent Close loved and developed in Lauren Betts.
“We’re confident and we know we’re going to win because of all the preparation and work we put in,” Bates said. “I think when we find a way to play together and play unselfishly and do what we do, no one can stop us. You guys saw that.”
Texas All-American Madison Booker and South Carolina All-American Raven Johnson were blunt when asked about the difficulty of taking on Betts.
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“She’s 6-7,” both said after the Final Four loss.
The reality is you can’t teach this. You can teach skills and develop them, but height is a major determining factor. Multi-tool Betts was the cheat code few could match up with, the two-way pivot that Corey Close established in his three seasons at UCLA.
Betts’ wingspan reaches the length of the paint, allowing him to rebound over three 6-foot South Carolina defenders. Her presence inside is something few South Carolina picks or earns. They were +12 on the boards; Bates finished with a team-high 11 points and provided plenty of tip-in opportunities for his teammates.
South Carolina couldn’t break through and force turnovers or jump balls like UConn’s suffocating defense. UCLA excels at throwing to Betts in the post that no one else can even detect a whiff of leather on, and it’s an easy two-point play. She can linger outside the game, waiting for offensive rebounds and ensuing passes that go uncaught and feed to open perimeter players.
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It’s a rare combination of physical gifts, talent, skills and a scheme that gives her offensive help. Close has continued to build purposefully through the transfer portal, building a winner around Kiki Rice, the No. 2 prospect in the 2022 class, and local product Gabriela Jaquez, whose older brother plays at UCLA. (Yes, says Jacques, she definitely has bragging rights.)
After last year’s defeat, Close brought in Knepkens and Charles Ledger-Walker to expand the lineup.
“It’s so rare in life that you can start a journey with a group of people and really envision something and then try to reverse engineer a plan that actually leads you to the point that we’re going through now, where it actually happens and you’re in that position that you planned on,” Close said.
Lauren Bates (left) was named Most Outstanding Player after UCLA’s win on Sunday. (Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
(Ben Solomon via Getty Images)
Each of the starters scored in double figures, led by Jaquez’s 21 points, making 8 of 19 three-pointers and shooting a combined 43.5% from the field. Even South Carolina’s defense, run by Staley, can’t make up for too many playmakers.
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South Carolina’s tallest and most experienced counter, Madina Okot, is small in comparison despite her 6-6 ranking. Alicia Tournebize is a mid-season international signing with little experience. It didn’t help that the Gamecocks were playing slowly, with a disorganized defense and a disorganized offense. Their shots weren’t falling, even at the rim, and things were out of control.
“I feel like we’re ready,” said Tessa Johnson, who led South Carolina with 14 points. “We knew we wanted it. But I guess we didn’t show it as well as we thought we would.”
Beating undefeated UConn could have the hangover, a difficult task that makes it even more emotional against a favored opponent with a 54-game winning streak.
The Huskies have been in this situation before. Losing consecutive championship games is more likely than winning one. The Gamecocks are now the seventh team to do so, failing to join storied programs at Tennessee and UConn in winning a third title in five years.
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“Sometimes you’re a part of women’s basketball history,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “It’s not good for you. You look at if you’re going to lose to a team like UCLA, you want to lose to a team that’s really going to work better than you and execute better than you. [and] Makes it difficult for you to perform at a high level. “
Staley and Cross exchanged high praise before the title game, a stark contrast to the competitive tension between Staley and UConn’s Geno Auriemma on Friday night. Staley served as head coach for 17 years and spent nine years at South Carolina before winning a championship. They first broke through in 2017. LSU is the only other first-time winner during this period, and did so in a transfer-heavy class in 2023, ushering in a new era of how to win in college sports.
Close is no stranger to the toll this championship has taken. She’ll need to replace everyone when the doors open Monday morning.
“I did say to my mom, ‘The transfer portal is getting easier,'” said a smiling Close, wearing a championship T-shirt and hat. Her goggle-clad players have exited the field to take photos documenting their final moments as current UCLA players.
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They will remain number one, but maybe not. On the way to back-to-back Final Four appearances and winning them all, they turned more attention to the 1978 team and UCLA’s overall success. Meyers Drysdale was honored as a former Olympic champion during the first quarter break, holding up her red Team USA polo shirt to reveal a UCLA T-shirt. Bruins home fans can’t get enough.
That’s why when it came up this weekend that UCLA was heading into its first championship game, Close always interrupted and corrected.
“Every time we’re said to be first and only and we don’t say anything to correct that, it’s kind of an attack on that team,” Close said Saturday. “So this is an opportunity for us to let them see the light and tell them we see you, we see you and we appreciate you.”
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She never wanted to belittle what they did. Or something Wooden built and passed on. She now understands what needs to be done to do this.
