PHOENIX – The UCLA Bruins and Texas Longhorns look to advance to the National Championship game after losing to the UConn Huskies and South Carolina Gamecocks, respectively, last year in Tampa Bay.
The Huskies and Gamecocks are set to face each other, this time in the semifinal round in Phoenix. This is the third time in the past five years these teams have met in the Final Four.
How UCLA Can Advance to Its First-Ever National Championship
Senior center Lauren Betts previously said she looked over what went wrong in the Bruins’ loss to the Huskies in last year’s Women’s Final Four ten times.
During the game, UConn, the eventual National Champion, turned the 20-point halftime lead into a 34-point blowout victory.
“I think the biggest difference looking back at the film is just creating opportunities to get the ball as much as I can,” Betts said Thursday. “I think just creating easier catches. They’re a really amazing defensive team.”
Bruins head coach Cori Close mentioned that the starting five of Betts, Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepens, and Charlisse Leger-Walker has the potential to get drafted in the upcoming 2026 WNBA Draft.
The senior class has made a positive impact throughout the season for UCLA. That group led the way in which they won both the Big Ten Regular Season and Conference Championships.
“I really am not worried at all,” Close said about the senior class. “I don’t give it a second thought because they are going to enter into their pro situations and people are going to be like they know how to work, they know what it takes to be a pro.”
Texas Looks to Win A National Championship For First Time in 40 Years
As the Texas Longhorns return to the Women’s Final Four for a second consecutive year, head coach Vic Schaefer praised the team for their performance throughout the season.
What could be the icing on the cake is bringing home a National Championship in Austin for the first time since their undefeated season in 1986.
“This is a great group of young ladies,” Schaefer said. “It’s an incredibly competitive group. They have been nothing short of spectacular, especially the last two months. They’re tough, they’re competitive. They’re really locked in. I felt this way for a while now. Especially when we got on the plane to go to the SEC tournament, just felt like they were on a mission.”
Two of their best players, senior guard Rori Harmon and junior forward Madison Booker, have been keys to the Longhorns’ success on both ends of the court.
Texas has to continue to play its best brand of basketball in order to advance.
“They need to keep playing (aggressively on both ends), as they have been so good, so dominant defensively,” ESPN Play-by-play analyst Ryan Ruocco said. “Madison Booker is more aggressive than she’s ever been offensively. That’s a great thing for them. Rori Harmon has gotten back her legs fully. Vic Schaefer talks about the edge they’ve been playing with. They just need to keep playing with that edge, and they have a great chance to win it all.”
The winner of this game faces the winner of UConn/South Carolina in the National Championship game on Sunday.