Cori Close’s UCLA Bruins made history by winning their first national championship in the NCAA era. They thrashed Dawn Staley’s South Carolina 79-51. The star of the show was Gabriela Jaquez, who entered the history books for two different records.
She scored 221 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 minutes. Jaquez really put her foot on the gas and drove UCLA to the victory. The usual contributors, Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice, also had an amazing game.
Jaquez finished her college career on the highest of highs. She won 124 games in four years as a Bruin and stands alone at the top in the program’s history as the player with the most wins. She overtook legends like Ann Meyers, Denise Curry, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Natalie Williams, Anita Ortega, and recent standouts like her teammates Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice.
Jaquez won 124 out of 144 games. The second-best behind her is her teammate for the last four years, Kiki Rice, with 122 wins in 142 games [stats via Sports Reference].
Not only that, but Gabriela Jaquez has also joined the elite company of Dawn Staley, Breanna Stewart, Sarah Strong, and Chamique Holdsclaw to become only the fifth player to have 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in a national championship game.
Gabriela Jaquez applauds Cori Close’s leadership
Last year, the UCLA Bruins were eliminated after a loss to the eventual national champions, the UConn Huskies. During the post-game press conference, Cori Close showed confidence in her team and said that they would do better next season, and better they did, won the NCAA title.
Star of the final, Gabriela Jaquez, shared her view on how Close led this team. She said:
“I’m just so proud and coach Corey. I’m just super proud of her as well, and the way that she responded as a leader from last year. I think we all responded really well. Obviously, we’re here now.” [3:41]
“But I think it just really started with Coach Cori and the way that she wanted to, you know, make a change in our program and get us back here and get this result. And I just I’ll always be thankful for her and believing me believing in me and I just appreciate you. Even if it was late, I’m here,” she added.
Jaquez also talked about her journey, saying [16:50]:
“Yeah, I mean super satisfied, I mean with this result, and the journey was even better. Um, but I think coming in my freshman year, um, I my dream was to be at UCLA. And so just to have an offer from UCLA, it brought tears to my eyes when Coach Cori offered me.”
“And so to now be playing there and then Kiki coming in and all, you know, we had a big freshman group, but I think we were all just really determined, you know, the core group to do something UCLA has not done before in the NCA era. And that was just really important for us,” she added.
“And we always believed. We always believed. And I think that just coach Cory started us with that, just always believing in us. And again, I keep saying it, but I’m just super, super proud of this whole group, you know, everyone in the program for always believing in, you know, the job’s finished. Job is finished,” she concluded.
Read more:
Who Are Gabriela Jaquez’s Parents? Know More About UCLA Star’s Brother Jaime Jaquez Jr. And Family
Caitlin Clark Drops 3-Word Reaction for Gabriela Jaquez’s Insane NCAA Final Performance
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