PHOENIX – Before UCLA took the court against Texas in the second Women’s Final Four matchup, Bruins coach Cori Close preached the importance of one facet of her team’s game.
“It has to be our defense that has to be our anchor,” Close said.
Close’s words proved prophetic. Defense was the name of the game in the Bruins’ 51-44 victory against the Longhorns. The 95 combined points marked the third-lowest scoring game in Women’s Final Four history. The game also set a record for the lowest-scoring half in Final Four history, with only 37 combined points at halftime.
Defense was the anchor for both teams. The Bruins just did it a little better, holding Texas to a season-low 44 points on 30.8% shooting from the field. That and a heroic performance from Lauren Betts helped UCLA advance to the NCAA women’s national championship game, although the Bruins did win the AIAW Large College championship in 1978.
UCLA will face South Carolina for the title on Sunday.
UCLA players celebrate at Mortgage Matchup Center Friday as they clinch a spot in the Women’s Final Four championship game. (Photo by Janes Reyes/ Cronkite News)
“I think they had 21 more shots than we did on the goal,” Close said of Texas. “That’s how good our defense was. We did it with toughness, togetherness and defense.”
Betts stepped up big time on the nation’s largest stage, notching her thirddouble-double of the Women’s NCAA Tournament with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“The amount she draws in on offense helps us all,” Bruins guard Gianna Kneepkens said. “Because you can go one-on-one, but I don’t know. That’s a choice if you want to make it. If they double, she’ll kick it out because she’s a great passer.”
Two moments illustrated Betts’ gritty performance against the Longhorns.
In the second half, Betts hit her head hard on the floor. It took a moment, but she slowly rose and remained in the game.
“I feel like when you’re in a situation, you’re playing in the Final Four, your season’s on the line, you’ve got to get over it and keep playing,” Betts said. “There was no way I was coming out of the game.”
The second moment came with1:02 left in the game when the Longhorns cut the Bruins lead to 47-44 on a Jordan Lee layup. Betts’ snuffed out the comeback bid with a game-sealing block of Texas forward Madison Booker’s layup attempt. It was Betts’ third block of the game.
“My job today was to help in any way I can inside the paint,” Betts said. “As soon as I saw her getting downhill, I’m like, ‘“All right, please block this, just don’t let her score.’”
For the Longhorns, despite a strong finish, efficiency struggles throughout the first three quarters proved fatal. Booker struggled throughout the game, finishing with only six points – her lowest total of the season – while shooting 13% from the field on 3-for-23 shooting.
UCLA center Lauren Betts defends against Texas’ Breya Cunningham in the Bruins’ victory in a Women’s Final Four semifinal game Friday. (Photo by Janes Reyes/Cronkite News)
Texas coach Vic Schaefer and Booker’s teammates defended her off-night shooting.
“You got to realize, she’s human,” Longhorns guard Rori Harmon said. “She’s a basketball player. We want her to take those shots.
“I truly told Maddy, ‘I don’t care what your statistics look like.’ There was plenty of other things that caused us to lose the game.”
UCLA blanketed Booker all night, forcing her into uncomfortable positions.
“First of all, she’s an incredible player,” UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens said. “All my teammates that played on her … just did an incredible job pressing up, making those shots difficult. She can hit those. I think we kind of pushed her out a little bit farther and made those very difficult for her.”
At the other end of the floor, Booker, Harmon and the Longhorns turned in a defensive performance that was nearly as dominant as the Bruins’.
“You ain’t never seen a team at the Final Four play defense like that group did tonight,” Schaefer said. “Guarding people, denying handoffs, all that. They played their hearts out, forced 23 turnovers, held the team to 51.”
UCLA was able to pull out the win despite being outshot by 21 attempts and turning the ball over 23 times to Texas’ 12. With the win, the Bruins avenged their only loss of the season, a 76-65 loss to Texas on Nov. 26 in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.
“It’s really all about toughness at this point and finding a way to make a winning play,” Close said. “Even if it’s a winning play you wouldn’t have predicted or chosen.”
Schaefer felt the game eluded Texas’ grasp despite some decent looks and more shot attempts.
“We had plenty of looks at the cup that we just missed,” he said. “I mean, we just missed shots. I don’t have an explanation for it.”
Texas’ season ended in the Final Four for the second straight season, but Schaefer said this game stung more than last year due to its hard-fought nature.
“I have no idea why the good Lord picked tonight for us to not be able to make a shot,” he said. “I think we feel like in our locker room, we let one get away. I think this one will haunt me as the coach for probably ’til the day I die.”
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‘Our anchor’: Defense, Lauren Betts lead UCLA past Texas in Women’s Final Four
Parker Porrill, Cronkite News
April 4, 2026
PHOENIX – Before UCLA took the court against Texas in the second Women’s Final Four matchup, Bruins coach Cori Close preached the importance of one facet of her team’s game.
“It has to be our defense that has to be our anchor,” Close said.
Close’s words proved prophetic. Defense was the name of the game in the Bruins’ 51-44 victory against the Longhorns. The 95 combined points marked the third-lowest scoring game in Women’s Final Four history. The game also set a record for the lowest-scoring half in Final Four history, with only 37 combined points at halftime.
Defense was the anchor for both teams. The Bruins just did it a little better, holding Texas to a season-low 44 points on 30.8% shooting from the field. That and a heroic performance from Lauren Betts helped UCLA advance to the NCAA women’s national championship game, although the Bruins did win the AIAW Large College championship in 1978.
UCLA will face South Carolina for the title on Sunday.
“I think they had 21 more shots than we did on the goal,” Close said of Texas. “That’s how good our defense was. We did it with toughness, togetherness and defense.”
Betts stepped up big time on the nation’s largest stage, notching her thirddouble-double of the Women’s NCAA Tournament with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“The amount she draws in on offense helps us all,” Bruins guard Gianna Kneepkens said. “Because you can go one-on-one, but I don’t know. That’s a choice if you want to make it. If they double, she’ll kick it out because she’s a great passer.”
Two moments illustrated Betts’ gritty performance against the Longhorns.
In the second half, Betts hit her head hard on the floor. It took a moment, but she slowly rose and remained in the game.
“I feel like when you’re in a situation, you’re playing in the Final Four, your season’s on the line, you’ve got to get over it and keep playing,” Betts said. “There was no way I was coming out of the game.”
The second moment came with1:02 left in the game when the Longhorns cut the Bruins lead to 47-44 on a Jordan Lee layup. Betts’ snuffed out the comeback bid with a game-sealing block of Texas forward Madison Booker’s layup attempt. It was Betts’ third block of the game.
“My job today was to help in any way I can inside the paint,” Betts said. “As soon as I saw her getting downhill, I’m like, ‘“All right, please block this, just don’t let her score.’”
For the Longhorns, despite a strong finish, efficiency struggles throughout the first three quarters proved fatal. Booker struggled throughout the game, finishing with only six points – her lowest total of the season – while shooting 13% from the field on 3-for-23 shooting.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer and Booker’s teammates defended her off-night shooting.
“You got to realize, she’s human,” Longhorns guard Rori Harmon said. “She’s a basketball player. We want her to take those shots.
“I truly told Maddy, ‘I don’t care what your statistics look like.’ There was plenty of other things that caused us to lose the game.”
UCLA blanketed Booker all night, forcing her into uncomfortable positions.
“First of all, she’s an incredible player,” UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens said. “All my teammates that played on her … just did an incredible job pressing up, making those shots difficult. She can hit those. I think we kind of pushed her out a little bit farther and made those very difficult for her.”
At the other end of the floor, Booker, Harmon and the Longhorns turned in a defensive performance that was nearly as dominant as the Bruins’.
“You ain’t never seen a team at the Final Four play defense like that group did tonight,” Schaefer said. “Guarding people, denying handoffs, all that. They played their hearts out, forced 23 turnovers, held the team to 51.”
UCLA was able to pull out the win despite being outshot by 21 attempts and turning the ball over 23 times to Texas’ 12. With the win, the Bruins avenged their only loss of the season, a 76-65 loss to Texas on Nov. 26 in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.
“It’s really all about toughness at this point and finding a way to make a winning play,” Close said. “Even if it’s a winning play you wouldn’t have predicted or chosen.”
Schaefer felt the game eluded Texas’ grasp despite some decent looks and more shot attempts.
“We had plenty of looks at the cup that we just missed,” he said. “I mean, we just missed shots. I don’t have an explanation for it.”
Texas’ season ended in the Final Four for the second straight season, but Schaefer said this game stung more than last year due to its hard-fought nature.
“I have no idea why the good Lord picked tonight for us to not be able to make a shot,” he said. “I think we feel like in our locker room, we let one get away. I think this one will haunt me as the coach for probably ’til the day I die.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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