SPOKANE, Wash. — This time, everything came together when it mattered most.
Lauren Betts made sure of it, following one powerful move with another.
This time, the last seconds were full of joyous anticipation.
Kiki Rice made the most of them, sinking two late free throws inside Spokane Arena.
This time, there was reason to celebrate the meaning of it all.
Gabriela Jaquez made sure to marinate in this moment, bouncing gleefully toward half-court while her teammates formed a joyous mob.
A year after Louisiana State ended UCLA’s season in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the Bruins returned the favor.
Making the critical plays it needed in the final minutes, top-seeded UCLA pulled away for a 72-65 victory over the third-seeded Tigers on Sunday in a Spokane Regional final, propelling the Bruins to their first Final Four in this tournament in school history.
Hello, Tampa!
UCLA (34-2) will face either top-seeded USC or second-seeded Connecticut in a national semifinal on Friday at Amalie Arena.
Do the Bruins want a fourth meeting with their rival Trojans?
“What kind of question is that?” Betts said with a laugh. “No comment.”
Added guard Timea Gardiner, with a chuckle of her own: “No comment.”
It took some late fortitude to set the stage for UCLA’s cross-country trip.
With LSU having closed to within 57-53, Jaquez followed two free throws with a three-pointer that she celebrated by raising her arms in triumph. UCLA held a 62-53 lead and just needed to play a clean final 90 seconds.
The Bruins got the job done.
UCLA players celebrate after defeating LSU in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA tournament on Sunday.
(Young Kwak / Associated Press)
“I think the game was won in the poise and the choice to go back to neutral, get ourselves refocused and make the next right step,” UCLA coach Cori Close said after her players dumped a cooler of confetti over her head and she led fans in an eight-clap while waving the net she had cut down.
This was the long-awaited breakthrough UCLA had been seeking under Close, who has taken her teams to the second weekend of this tournament seven times. The Bruins had reached a regional final only once previously under their current coach, losing to Mississippi State in 2018.
Now they’re two victories away from the school’s first NCAA title in the sport after winning the 1978 AIAW championship behind the dynamic play of Ann Meyers and Denise Curry, the latter star celebrating with her successors Sunday on a confetti-strewn court.
Joining them in school lore will be Betts, who shook off early foul trouble to continue her dominant run in this tournament with 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks. The 6-foot-7 center has now tallied 78 points, 31 rebounds and 11 blocks over her last three games.
Jaquez added 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Gardiner made five of eight three-pointers on the way to 15 points.
“Everyone came to UCLA for this reason, to do something we haven’t done in a really long time or in the NCAA era,” Jaquez said, “and so just really proud of my teammates, the staff, the coaches. … I just don’t even have words, just so proud.”
Close said she was stunned by her team’s winning formula of making 10 of 24 three-pointers (41.7%) while shooting just 35.5% inside the arc.
Beating LSU (31-6) necessitated a better finish than a year ago, when the Bruins missed their final eight shots while being outscored 14-2 on the way to a 78-69 loss. Showing the poise their coach had referenced her players having on the eve of the rematch, UCLA did not wilt this time.
Returning from foul trouble to start the second half, Betts quickly reasserted herself. She stepped out to contest an Aneesah Morrow three-pointer that was airballed, made a layup and snagged a defensive rebound. Londynn Jones added a three-pointer to push the Bruins’ lead into double digits for the first time, forcing LSU to call a timeout.
UCLA players celebrate after defeating LSU on Sunday to reach the Final Four.
(Young Kwak / Associated Press)
After getting played closely in the first half of its most recent tournament victories over Richmond and Mississippi, UCLA’s 31-25 halftime lead over the Tigers felt like a massive edge. It largely came courtesy of Gardiner’s making all three three-pointers she took in the second quarter, helping the Bruins withstand playing the entire quarter without Betts because of foul trouble.
“I think that we just did what we usually do,” Gardiner said. “One person goes down, another person steps up.”
Earlier this week, Close had said she wanted her team to be able to push through chaos and have the flexibility to play the game “like an art project, not a scientific formula.” That chaos came in the form of playing so many minutes without the team’s best player, who picked up two fouls in the first quarter and sat out the rest of the first half.
But then something encouraging happened: UCLA went on a run.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Jaquez and Gardiner capped a 12-2 push that gave the Bruins a 23-17 advantage and swung the momentum hugely in their favor.
“We did not take advantage of Betts being off the floor in the second quarter,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said, “and we allowed perimeter threes and other people to step up.”
They would not let up, this time different from so many others.