Jump to content

2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game
National championship game
South Carolina Gamecocks UCLA Bruins
SEC Big Ten
(36–3) (36–1)
51 79
Head coach:
Dawn Staley		 Head coach:
Cori Close
1234Total
South Carolina Gamecocks 101391951
UCLA Bruins 2115251879
DateApril 5, 2026
VenueMortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona
MVPLauren Betts, UCLA
Attendance15,856
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
Announcers
Nielsen Ratings3.9 (9.88 million viewers)
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game was the final game of the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. It determined the champion of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season and was contested by the No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the No. 1 seed UCLA Bruins from the Big Ten Conference. The game was played on April 5, 2026, at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the first time that Phoenix hosted the national championship game.[1] The Bruins won the game 79–51 for the program's first NCAA title, and Lauren Betts was named the Most Outstanding Player. The Gamecocks lost their second straight title game.

Participants

[edit]

South Carolina Gamecocks

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team

Coming off their 82–59 loss in the 2025 national championship game to UConn,[2] South Carolina won the 2025–26 SEC regular season for the 10th time and advanced to the SEC tournament championship, which they lost to Texas.[3] A No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament,[3] the Gamecocks advanced to the championship with a 62–48 win in the semifinals over the Huskies, ending their 52-game winning streak.[4] It was South Carolina's third consecutive national championship game,[5] and their fourth in five seasons.[6] They were seeking their fourth national title in nine seasons. The Gamecocks were led by Joyce Edwards, who was named a second-team All-American,[4] and Raven Johnson, a third-team All-American selection and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.[7]

UCLA Bruins

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 UCLA Bruins women's basketball team

After exiting the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA tournament with a 85–51 loss in the semifinals to UConn,[2] UCLA went undefeated in 2025–26 against all Big Ten opponents, winning the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles. It was their second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship. Senior center Lauren Betts earned first-team All-American honors for the second consecutive season,[8] and she was named both the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.[3] Senior guard Kiki Rice was named a third-team All-American.[9] The Bruins were also seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tournament,[3] and they returned to the Final Four after their first under head coach Cori Close in 2025.[10] UCLA reached the national championship game after a 51–44 win over Texas, who had handed them their only loss of the season.[4] It was the Bruins' first national championship game in the NCAA era.[11] They won a national championship in 1978, when the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was overseeing women's basketball,[4] until the NCAA took over in 1982.[12]

Game summary

[edit]
Lauren Betts was named the NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player.

UCLA never trailed in the game and defeated South Carolina 79–51 for their 31st consecutive win. The 28-point margin was the third largest in a Division I women's championship game.[13] The Bruins' Lauren Betts had 14 points and 11 rebounds and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.[14] Fellow senior teammate Gabriela Jaquez added a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.[10] All five of UCLA's starters scored in double figures. The Gamecocks' 51 points was their season low.[15]

The Bruins led 14–3 after five minutes while coaxing the Gamecocks' post players into settling for jump shots.[2] UCLA's Kiki Rice made a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first quarter, giving them a 21–10 lead.[15] South Carolina shot 17% for its worst quarter of the season,[12] with their leading scorer, Joyce Edwards, going 0-for-3.[2] The Bruins led 36–23 at halftime after holding the Gamecocks to 25.7% shooting for the half.[15] UCLA opened the second half with a 12–3 burst, with Jacquez scoring five points.[12] South Carolina was outscored 25–9 in the third quarter, as the Gamecocks scored the second-fewest points ever in one quarter of the championship game.[10] The Bruins extended their lead to 61–32 after three quarters, the largest lead entering the fourth quarter in the history of the championship game.[15]

Tessa Johnson led South Carolina in scoring with 14 points, and Agot Makeer added 11 points off the bench.[2] It was the Gamecocks' second consecutive championship game loss after winning the title in 2024.[12]

April 5, 2026
3:00 p.m. EDT
No. 1 South Carolina 51, No. 1 UCLA 79
Scoring by quarter: 10–21, 13–15, 9–25, 19–18
Pts: T. Johnson (14)
Rebs: Edwards (11)
Asts: Edwards (3)		 Pts: Jaquez (21)
Rebs: L. Betts (11)
Asts: Jaquez, Rice (5)
Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 15,856
Referees: Gina Cross, Tiffany Bird
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
F 8 Joyce Edwards 8 11 3
C 11 Madina Okot 6 3 1
G 5 Tessa Johnson 14 3 1
G 00 Ta'Niya Latson 4 3 2
G 25 Raven Johnson 3 3 0
Reserves:
F 31 Alicia Tournebize 0 6 0
F 30 Maryam Dauda 3 2 0
G 44 Agot Makeer 11 2 0
G 24 Ayla McDowell 0 0 2
G 1 Maddy McDaniel 2 0 2
Head coach:
Dawn Staley
South Carolina jersey
Team colours
South Carolina
UCLA jersey
Team colours
UCLA

South Carolina Statistics UCLA
18/62 (29%) Field goals 30/69 (43%)
2/15 (13%) 3-pt field goals 8/19 (42%)
13/17 (76%) Free throws 11/13 (85%)
17 Offensive rebounds 21
20 Defensive rebounds 28
37 Total rebounds 49
9 Assists 23
14 Turnovers 13
6 Steals 7
4 Blocks 5
17 Fouls 17
Starters: Pts Reb Ast
C 51[a] Lauren Betts 14 11 2
G 8 Gianna Kneepkens 15 1 4
G 11 Gabriela Jaquez 21 10 5
G 5 Charlisse Leger-Walker 10 4 2
G 1 Kiki Rice 10 6 5
Reserves:
F 16 Sienna Betts 0 4 0
F 33 Amanda Muse 0 1 0
F 32 Angela Dugalic 9 5 4
G 9 Lena Bilic 0 1 1
G 3 Christina Karamouzi 0 0 0
Head coach:
Cori Close

Media coverage

[edit]

The championship game was televised in the United States by ABC. Ryan Ruocco was the play-by-play commentator, Rebecca Lobo was the analyst, and Holly Rowe was the sideline reporter.[17]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Betts changed jersey numbers from 51 to 26 temporarily during the third quarter as it had blood on it.[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Tampa (2025) and Phoenix (2026) named NCAA Women's Final Four basketball host cities". ESPN. October 14, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e Teague Robinson, Cameron (April 5, 2026). "UCLA clobbers South Carolina for first NCAA national title in program history". The Athletic. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d Creme, Charlie; Voepel, Michael; Andrews (March 15, 2026). "Women's March Madness 2026 bracket: NCAA tournament teams". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d Marshall, John (April 4, 2026). "South Carolina and UCLA are expecting another physical game as they meet for women's national title". Associated Press. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  5. ^ Hemphill, Joshua (April 3, 2026). "REMATCH REVENGE! Gamecocks take down undefeated UConn to head to 3rd straight championship game". WIS. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  6. ^ Teague Robinson, Cameron (April 4, 2026). "First look at the women's national championship: Who will win? South Carolina or UCLA?". The Athletic. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  7. ^ Hurd, Sean (April 3, 2026). "Adversity and winning have bonded South Carolina's Dawn Staley and Raven Johnson". Andscape. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  8. ^ Feinberg, Doug (March 18, 2026). "UConn teammates Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd headline AP All-America first team". Associated Press. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  9. ^ Yasharoff, Joe (April 5, 2026). "Sidwell Friends alum Kiki Rice helps lead UCLA to brink of first national championship". WTOP. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  10. ^ a b c McManaman, Bob (April 5, 2026). "Lauren Betts, UCLA Bruins 'dream chasers' take 1st NCAA title". Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  11. ^ Voepel, Michael (April 2, 2026). "UCLA draws from last year's Final Four as it preps for Texas". ESPN. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  12. ^ a b c d Feinberg, Doug (April 5, 2026). "UCLA storms past South Carolina to claim its 1st NCAA women's basketball title". Associated Press. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  13. ^ Adelson, Andrea (April 5, 2026). "UCLA blows out South Carolina for first women's NCAA title". ESPN. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  14. ^ Leuzzi, John (April 5, 2026). "Lauren Betts named MOP of NCAA Women's Tournament after UCLA wins title". USA Today. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  15. ^ a b c d Ingemi, Marisa (April 5, 2026). "UCLA crushes South Carolina to win NCAA women's basketball national championship". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  16. ^ Reid, Tia - What happened to Lauren Betts in UCLA vs South Carolina NCAA championship game? Greenville News, April 5, 2026
  17. ^ Cluff, Jeremy (April 5, 2026). "UCLA dominates South Carolina in women's national championship game". Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2026_NCAA_Division_I_women%27s_basketball_championship_game&oldid=1347978831"