No. 1-seed Bruins Prepare for Rematch with No. 1-seed Longhorns

Friday, April 3

Phoenix, Ariz.

6:30 PM (PT)

UCLA

Texas

Angela Dugalić_vs. Duke (March 29, 2026)

Photo by: Caren Nicdao

No. 1-seed Bruins Prepare for Rematch with No. 1-seed Longhorns

April 01, 2026 | Women's Basketball

UCLA Game Notes (PDF)Tournament Central Pauley Watch Party - Free Admission

PHOENIX – UCLA women's basketball prepares for a rematch against the only team to hand it a loss this season, the Texas Longhorns.

UCLA (35-1) and Texas (35-3) face off in a battle of juggernauts in the Final Four of the 2026 NCAA DI Women's Basketball Championships on Friday, April 3. The Bruins and Longhorns tip off in the second game of the evening, following No. 1-seed UConn vs. No. 1-seed South Carolina.

The game is set to air on ESPN starting approximately at 6:30 p.m. PT.

GAME INFORMATION
Venue: Mortgage Matchup Center
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Tip-off Time: 6:30 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN
TV Talent: Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe
Radio: UCLA Digital Radio; Westwood One; SiriusXM 84 and SiriusXM App
Radio Talent: Dave Marcus (UCLA); Ryan Radtke, Debbie Antonelli and Ros Gold-Onwude (Westwood One)

WATCH PARTY
UCLA will host a watch party inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial on Friday for those unable to attend in Phoenix. Doors to the arena in Westwood open at 6 p.m. PT on April 3.

Admission is free for all fans; RSVP for Friday's watch party using this link.

MATCHUP HISTORY: vs. Texas Longhorns
• UCLA and Texas were tied in the all-time series prior to this season's meeting. The Longhorns now lead 8-7 after having taken the last two matchups - 76-65 in Las Vegas in November and 71-62 in the 2021 NCAA tournament.
• The Bruins are 2-4 against Texas under head coach Cori Close.
• Three of the last four meetings between the programs have been at neutral sites in the NCAA tournament (2021, 2018, 2016).

LAST TIME OUT: W, 70-58 vs. No. 3-seed Duke Blue Devils (March 29)
• UCLA trailed at halftime for just the second time this season with its eight-point deficit against Duke; it also saw its third double-digit deficit of the season in the first half, but the Bruins were not deterred.
• Senior Lauren Betts led all scorers with 23 points and finished with a double-double, collecting 10 rebounds. She also had five blocks; with her fourth rejection of the night, she surpassed Monique Billings (228 BLK, 2014-18) as UCLA's all-time leading shot blocker in just three seasons. She has 230 blocks as a Bruin, 259 total.
• Lauren Betts was named the Sacramento 2 Regional Most Outstanding Player, and graduate forward Angela Dugalić joined her on the all-region team. Dugalić had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists as the only other Bruin in double figures against Duke.
• UCLA returns to the Final Four the second time in as many seasons, marking the only time since 1978/1979 that the Bruins played in the national semifinal game in consecutive seasons.

HISTORY MADE IN INDY
• UCLA became the 10th team in conference history to repeat as Big Ten tournament champions after capturing the 2025 and 2026 titles in consecutive seasons.
• The championship victory marks the third conference tournament title in program history, and the first back-to-back championship for UCLA WBB. The Bruins now own trophies from the 2006 Pac-10 tournament, the 2025 and 2026 Big Ten tourneys.
• Senior Kiki Rice was named Most Outstanding Player for the 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament; she averaged 16.7 points, 5.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds in UCLA's 3-0 weekend in Indianapolis. Senior Lauren Betts joined her on the all-tournament team.
• UCLA earned its second-consecutive Big Ten tournament title with a 51-point win over Iowa in the championship game. The result marked the largest margin of victory over an AP top-10 opponent by any team in NCAA history (since 1981-82).
• UCLA finished 18-0 in conference play, claiming the fourth unblemished regular season in Big Ten History (2026 UCLA, 2015 Maryland, 1999 Purdue, 1985 Ohio State).

MARCHING ON: UCLA IN THE POSTSEASON
• The Bruins are making their 21st appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Bruins are 23-9 in tournament games under Head Coach Cori Close and 30-20 all-time in NCAA postseason appearances.
• UCLA's only national championship came in 1978 when women's basketball was housed by the AIAW.
• The Bruins reached their first NCAA Final Four in 2025 after claiming the Spokane 1 Regional championship trophy.
• UCLA entered the 2026 NCAA postseason for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons (excluding the canceled 2020 postseason).
• The Bruins won the 2015 WNIT and made it to the tournament's semifinal round in 2022 for UCLA's only absences from the NCAA tournament since 2014.
• UCLA has hosted the first and second rounds each of the last four seasons, one of six DI schools to be a top-four seed in each campaign.

WHAT'S BRUIN
• Lauren Betts is one of four players to have a season with 600+ points, 300+ rebounds, 100+ assists and 70+ blocks (Breanna Stewart 3x, Cheryl Miller 2x, Jayne Appel-Marinelli); she's the first to do so since Stewart at UConn in 2015-16 per StatHead.
• UCLA has 14 ranked wins this season, seven of which came in B1G play; the Bruins also had back-to-back top-12 wins (No. 11 Ohio State, No. 9 Iowa) in the Big Ten tournament, and consecutive top-20 wins in Sacramento (No. 19 Minnesota, No. 10 Duke).
• The Bruins have a +20.9 margin of victory in ranked wins and league-leading +28.0 margin overall (5th in NCAA, 1st in B1G).
• The Big Ten boasts seven programs in the AP Top 25's penultimate poll: No. 2 UCLA, No. 7 Iowa, No. 9 Michigan, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 20 Michigan. Oregon and Illinois received votes.
• The 2025-26 Bruins have won a program-record setting 28-straight games since faltering against No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26.
• UCLA won 23-straight games in 2024-25 - 22 were by a double-digit margin - setting the single-season streak for both records in program history. UCLA's previous-best win streak came in the 1977-78 championship campaign (21 games).
• Head Coach Cori Close has 356-career wins at the helm; she was the first Bruin women's head coach to reach 300 wins last year.
• The Bruins reached 30 wins for the second-consecutive season; UCLA's 35 wins in 2026 breaks single-season record set in 2025.
• UCLA has four players averaging double figures: L. Betts (17.2), K. Rice (15.2), G. Jaquez (13.4) and G. Kneepkens (12.8). Angela Dugalić (9.1) and Charlisse Leger-Walker (8.6) are just outside of the double-digit mark.
• The Bruin starting five totals 67.2 points per game, accounting for 79.2% of scoring for UCLA. Six UCLA players have scored 20+ points in a game this season; the Bruins have had multiple 20+ point scorers in four games so far.
• The Bruins lead the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (1.76 A/TO), assists (798 TOTAL, 22.2 APG), FG% (.513, 2nd NCAA), defensive FG% (.362 OPP FG%). UCLA is also first in the conference (2nd NCAA) in rebounding margin (+14.9 RPG), first in rebounds (42.4 RPG, 9th NCAA) and first in the B1G in scoring margin (+28.0, 5th NCAA). UCLA is second in the conference in 3P% (.368, 9th NCAA).
• UCLA finished the pre-tournament season second in the NET rankings with a nation-best 19 Quad 1 wins (19-1).
• Four Bruins were named to the Mid-Season Top 10 lists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Starting 5 awards: Kiki Rice (Lieberman), Gianna Kneepkens (Meyers Drysdale), Gabriela Jaquez (Miller) and Lauren Betts (Leslie).
• Lauren Betts was named to the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 on Feb. 10, but point guard Kiki Rice (who was named to the top 25) was omitted on the updated watch list. They both made the Naismith Trophy POTY Late Season Team on Feb. 17.
• For the first time in program history (data going back to 1999-2000), UCLA had seven Bruins in double figures against Indiana on Feb. 15: K. Rice (17), L. Betts (16), G. Kneepkens (12), C. Leger-Walker (12), G. Jaquez (11), S. Betts (10), L. Bilić (10).
• The Bruins boast 7 McDonald's All Americans on the roster: Lauren Betts, Sienna Betts, Angela Dugalić, Timea Gardiner, Gabriela Jaquez, Amanda Muse, and Kiki Rice. Jaquez and Rice shared co-MVP honors in the all-star game.

CLINCH ME, I'M DREAMING
• With a win over Washington (Feb. 19), UCLA claimed a share of the B1G regular season title; it marked the first time the Bruins earned a share of the regular season title since 1998-99, when they shared the Pac-10 title with Oregon (15-3).
• The Bruins won the conference outright with a win against Wisconsin (Feb. 22); it was the first time in program history that UCLA has made sole claim of the regular season championship.

B1G PLAYERS, B1G AWARDS
• The Bruins claimed four of the five individual conference awards in a Los Angeles sweep of the Big Ten postseason honors.
• Senior Lauren Betts earned Player of the Year and repeated as Defensive Player of the Year; she became the first player in conference history to earn both POTY and DPOY in the same season. She was also a unanimous selection for All-Big Ten First Team (Coaches + Media) and the only unanimous selection on either Big Ten All-Defensive teams (Coaches, unanimous + Media).
• Graduate forward Angela Dugalić was named Sixth Player of the Year for her contributions off the bench.
• Head Coach Cori Close led her program to a perfect 18-0 in conference play, earning her Coach of the Year honors for 2025-26.
• Senior Kiki Rice joined her center on the All-Big Ten First Team (Coaches + Media) and Big Ten All-Defensive Team (Coaches). The point guard was a unanimous selection for both coaches and media First Teams, one of four unanimous honorees on both teams.
• Gabriela Jaquez and Gianna Kneepkens earned all-conference recognitions for their work on the court; Jaquez was All-Big Ten Second Team (Coaches + Media) as UCLA's third-leading scorer. Kneepkens joined her on the All-Big Ten Second Team (Media) and was recognized with an Honorable Mention nod by the conference coaches.
• Sienna Betts was included on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team; she averaged 6.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in 19 regular season contests.
• Graduate guard Charlisse Leger-Walker was recognized as UCLA's Sportsmanship Honoree.

POSTSEASON HONORS AND WATCHLISTS ABOUND
• The accolades keep rolling in for Lauren Betts - she was named First Team All-America by The Athletic, ESPN, the Associated Press and the USBWA. She's also a finalist for the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team and the Wade Trophy. The 2025 Lisa Leslie Center of the Year is again a finalist for the positional award, and she was included on the Wooden Award national ballot top 15 - she was then named to the Wooden Award Top 5 on March 31.
• Kiki Rice earned a few All-America honors of her own. The point guard was named Third Team All-America by both the Associated Press and USBWA. Rice was curiously left off the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Top Five, but she was named a WBCA Coaches' All-America Finalist and a Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Semifinalist (Top 10).
• Gianna Kneepkens earned an AP All-America Honorable Mention nod. She's also a top 5 finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year.
• Gabriela Jaquez is up for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award; she was named a top 5 finalist on March 11.

A BRIEF NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
• UCLA opened the 2025-26 season ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll, released Oct. 14. The Bruins had a number of top 15 matchups in November: No. 6 Oklahoma (Nov. 10), No. 11 North Carolina (Nov. 13), No. 4 Texas (Nov. 26) and No. 14 Tennessee (Nov. 30), finishing November 3-1 against ranked opponents.
• The Bruins began the year with six of their first eight games being played at neutral site locations. UCLA made the trip to Las Vegas twice in three weeks, first for the WBCA Challenge (Nov. 13-15) and second for the Players Era Women's Championship (Nov. 26-27). The Bruins went 3-1 in Sin City this November.
• UCLA was recognized as the USBWA National Team of the Week after going 3-0 from Nov. 10-15, which included victories over No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 North Carolina.

46 YEARS LATER... UCLA RETURNED TO THE NATIONAL SEMIFINAL
• While the trip to Tampa was UCLA's first "NCAA" Final Four, the Bruin history books remember its time in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) prior to the NCAA's 1982 adoption and sponsorship of women's basketball.
• The Bruins made back-to-back trips to the national semifinal game in 1978 and 1979; UCLA captured the AIAW title in '78.
• The 1978 championship team was headlined by Denise Curry and Ann Meyers-Drysdale, UCLA's only retired numbers on the women's basketball side (12 and 15, respectively). Curry went on to score 3,198 points in her career (before the 3-point line was implemented in 1987-88) and amassed 1,310 rebounds in four years as a Bruin (10.1 RPG). Meyers-Drysdale was the first woman to earn a full scholarship at UCLA and went on to become the first four-time women's basketball All-American.