UCLA wins first women's basketball national title in program history with dominant win over South Carolina

Michigan Head Coach Dusty May joins Colin Cowherd to preview Michigan’s Final Four matchup against Arizona, and to discuss how Michigan got this far in this year’s March Madness tournament.

For the first time in program history, the UCLA Bruins are the women’s basketball national champions.

The Bruins took down the South Carolina Gamecocks, the team led by Dawn Staley that had reached the national title game three consecutive seasons and won it in 2024, in dominant fashion, 79-51.

Staley’s squad did not look like it did against UConn in the Final Four, as they couldn’t figure things out offensively. A lot of that had to do with suffocating UCLA defense, but the Bruins weren’t having the same trouble when they had the ball in their hands.

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The UCLA Bruins women's basketball team huddles before the NCAA Women's Championship game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 4, 2026. (Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

By the end of the third quarter, the Bruins had a whopping 29-point lead over the Gamecocks, 61-32, as UCLA held South Carolina to just 24% shooting from the floor compared to their 43%.

In the end, UCLA made 43% of its shots compared to South Carolina's 29%, which is always the goal for a team looking to win a title.

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It’s been a long time coming for Close, who has been leading the Bruins since the 2011-12 season. Last season marked the first time UCLA has been to the Final Four in the women’s NCAA Tournament as a program, though they fell to the UConn Huskies, 85-51.

Kiki Rice of the UCLA Bruins reacts after making a