The UCLA Bruins’ historic season came to a crushing end in the Final Four with an 85-51 loss to UConn, the most significant margin of defeat in Women’s Final Four history. Despite the disappointment, Coach Cori Close and players Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice faced the media with accountability and perspective on their program’s first-ever Final Four appearance.
UConn’s defensive pressure stifled the Bruins throughout the contest, forcing 14 first-half turnovers and allowing the Huskies to build an insurmountable lead. While Betts managed 26 points, the remainder of UCLA’s typically balanced offense struggled to find rhythm against UConn’s suffocating defense.
“They Were Tougher Than Us Tonight”: Bruins Reflect on UConn’s Dominance
Coach Close didn’t mince words when describing the defeat: “Credit to UConn, they were the aggressors. They played more purposefully, they played more connected, they were tougher than us tonight, and they handed it to us.”
The head coach highlighted the team’s uncharacteristic performance, particularly regarding ball security. “Turnovers are really what killed us in the first half because we didn’t have shot attempts at the basket,” Close explained, echoing Rice’s assessment that UCLA’s struggles stemmed from an inability to establish an offensive rhythm.
Rice elaborated on the turnover problems: “We had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers. When we take care of the ball, we’re a really good team.” The junior guard expressed the need to “show up more prepared and ready to win,” adding, “That has nothing to do with the coaches; that’s everything to do with us.”
When asked about UConn’s defense, Close offered high praise: “They scrambled. They were coming from double teams and running us off the line on inside-out passes. Nobody has closed like that with us this year.”
Building on UCLA’s Historic Season
Perhaps the most significant silver lining from the post-game press conference was Close’s reminder that UCLA fielded zero seniors, making them uniquely positioned to build on this experience. “It’s really unusual to be in this position at the Final Four and have zero seniors in your locker room.”
Betts, who emerged as one of college basketball’s dominant post players this season, addressed how the painful loss would fuel their offseason preparations: “Taking this sadness and anger and making sure that next year we’re holding the standard from the very beginning and not letting up.”
When asked about specific improvements for next week, JasonRice focused on intangibles: “I think we are just continuing to build our toughness. I think that’s an area where we improved a lot this past overseas, and we’ll get bet individually and collectively kill-wisenednedy.”
Betts added, “Our urgency and our competitiveness—I think we kind of lacked that a little bit today—and just recognizing that this is the Final Four, and our season is on the line.”
Rice, who wrote “We will go to a Final Four” in her journal daily for a year before UCLA’s breakthrough, reflected on their 34-3 campaign: “It sucks right now, but I think we’ll all do our best not to forget what a fantastic year this was. There were so many firsts in program history.”
When comparing UConn to South Carolina, whom UCL had played earlier in the season, Close highlighted the contrasting styles: “It’s such contrasting styles. The thing that makes UConn so dangerous is how good they are in the midrange. They truly are efficient at all the ee levels, which very few teams are.”
Coach Close believes her team needed this experience to take the next step. Quoting Tony Bennett’s wisdom, she shared, “Adversity, if used correctly, can buy you a ticket to a place that maybe you wouldn’t have gone otherwise.”
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For the Bruins, who matched South Carolina’s dominance before faltering against UConn, this painful lesson could catalyze championship success in 2026. As Close concluded, “May the pain of this regret and this loss buy us a ticket, if handled well, to be better the next time. Hopefully, we will get this opportunity.”
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