University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Women's Basketball Prepares for Sweet 16 in Sacramento
March 26, 2026 | Women's Basketball
SACRAMENTO โ The No. 1-seed UCLA women's basketball team spent its first full day in Sacramento on Thursday, three days after advancing from the tournament's second round. The Bruins (33-1) met with the media in a press conference at Golden 1 Center in the afternoon.
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Under the leadership of 15th-year head coach Cori Close, UCLA has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. The Bruins will take on No. 4-seed Minnesota (24-8) on Friday in Sacramento at 4:30 p.m. (PT), in a regional semifinal that will be nationally broadcast on ESPN. Game time is 4:30 p.m. (PT).
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"For us, it's been trying to focus on the present day, over and over and over again," Coach Close said in remarks to the media on Thursday. "That may sound like boring coach-speak, but I think that is how we have avoided trying to internalize too much pressure, how we have tried to enjoy the journey more. So really, we are just trying to stack those days over and over again. I showed them the video about that we're not trying to build a wall. We're trying to just place this one brick as perfectly as we can, and we're just going to try to continue that. This is a 1-0 season right now. We're just going to try to place this brick and prepare the best we can to put ourselves in the best position to fight another day."
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Seniors Angela Dugalic and Gabriela Jaquez, in addition to Coach Close, took part in Thursday's press conference.
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Most recently, UCLA advanced in the NCAA Tournament with back-to-back home wins over Cal Baptist last Saturday and Oklahoma State on Monday evening. The Bruins have won 27 consecutive games after having opened the season with a 6-1 record.
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Senior Lauren Betts scored a team-best 35 points in UCLA's 87-68 win over Oklahoma State on Monday, sinking 15 of 19 shots from the field. She also totaled nine rebounds, five assists and one block in her final appearance playing at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Betts was recognized as one of four finalists for the Jersey Mike's Naismith Women's Player of the Year Award on Wednesday โ along with Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Azzi Fudd (UConn) and Sarah Strong (UConn).
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This marks UCLA's 21st appearance competing in the NCAA Tournament, as the Bruins have compiled a 29-20 all-time record and a 21-9 mark under Coach Close. Last season, UCLA advanced to the Final Four for the first time since the 1978 AIAW national tournament โ when the Bruins won the national title (under the oversight of the AIAWA, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women).
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UCLA has entered the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in 11 seasons (excluding the canceled 2020 postseason, due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The Bruins have hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons, as one of six Division I teams to have earned a top-four seed in each of those campaigns.
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The winner of this Friday's game between UCLA (33-1) and Minnesota (24-8) will take on the winner of Friday's second semifinal matchup, featuring No. 2-seed LSU (29-5) and No. 3-seed Duke (26-8).
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UCLA has gone 4-1 in five previous meetings with Minnesota, including a 2-0 mark in the past two years within the Big Ten. Betts finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in UCLA's 76-58 win at Minnesota earlier this season (Jan. 14, 2026).
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