UCLA Bruins Win First NCAA National Championship
APRIL 5, 2026 — The UCLA Bruins dominated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 79-51, to capture their first NCAA National Championship on Sunday, capping off an incredible Women’s Final Four week in Phoenix. Senior center Lauren Betts scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bruins, earning the Most Outstanding Player Award, in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 15,000 fans at the Mortgage Matchup Center.
UCLA defeated Texas, and South Carolina defeated UConn on Friday night in the Semifinals of the Women’s Final Four, which were held in Arizona for the first time ever, two years after the 2024 Men’s Final Four was played in Glendale.
It was the Bruins’ first national title since 1978, when UCLA captured the AIAW Championship, led by Ann Meyers Drysdale, prior to the NCAA governing the collegiate sport. A longtime executive and broadcaster for the Phoenix Mercury and Phoenix Suns, Meyers Drysdale was in attendance for the celebration, and was recognized along with her teammates from the 1978 Olympic team during a timeout.
In addition to the games, Phoenix hosted a variety of free events for fans throughout the week, and celebrated the re-opening of refurbished courts and facilities at the Washington Activity Center, as well as the crowing of a champion in the Read to the Final Four literacy competition.
“Phoenix. No notes,” tweeted ESPN reporter, Holly Rowe. “This was a spectacular host city!! Loved every minute.”
