The No. 1 seed UCLA Bruins are the undisputed queens of college basketball. UCLA demolished the No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks 79-51 to capture the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The massive 28-point blowout completely dismantled a South Carolina dynasty that had defined the sport for the last half-decade and signals a massive power shift in the women’s game.
UCLA ends their historic season with a 37-1 record. Their sole loss came way back in November against Texas, a team they recently eliminated in the Final Four. Head coach Cori Close unleashed a suffocating defensive masterclass on Sunday that neutralized the usually explosive Gamecocks. South Carolina finished the year at 36-3 after surviving a brutal physical battle against UConn just days prior to reach the title game.
The game broke wide open in the third quarter. UCLA outscored South Carolina 25-9 during that ten-minute stretch. They carried a staggering 61-32 lead into the fourth quarter and never looked back. South Carolina shot a dismal 29 percent from the floor. They went 2-for-15 from three-point range.
Senior Gabriela Jaquez dominated the offensive flow. She racked up 21 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, and dished out five assists. Senior center Lauren Betts bullied her way to a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Betts was officially named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, according to a detailed live report from the arena.
Tessa Johnson tried to keep South Carolina afloat with 14 points. Agot Makeer chipped in 11 points. The Gamecocks simply had no answer for the Bruins’ interior size and relentless perimeter pressure.
The post-game celebration brought intense emotion to the Phoenix court. Close called the victory “immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine” while praising her team’s grit. Betts used her championship trophy presentation to speak openly to a national audience about her past struggles with depression. She stated her ultimate goal is to use her basketball platform to help save lives.
How the Bruins’ 28-Point Blowout Rewrites the Big Ten Hierarchy
This near-record victory cements a definitive shift in women’s college basketball. Winning the national title by 28 points marks the third-largest margin of victory in championship game history. UCLA did not just beat Dawn Staley’s squad. They systematically routed a program that won two of the last four national titles.
The championship also powerfully validates UCLA’s recent blockbuster conference realignment. They are now only the second Big Ten program ever to win a women’s basketball national title. They join the 1999 Purdue team in the history books. UCLA’s only previous national championship came in 1978 under the AIAW, prior to modern NCAA governance. By tearing through the 2026 bracket and burying South Carolina, Close has officially established the Bruins as the sport’s newest undisputed juggernaut.