Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 79-51 in the national championship game on Sunday to win their first-ever title.
Although the star of the NCAA final was surely Gabriela Jaquez, Betts completed a pretty impressive season. She averaged 17.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game. Betts was phenomenal in the NCAA Tournament. She has become only the third player in history to have a special stat line in the NCAA tournament.
Betts averaged 24 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3 blocks per game in the NCAA tournament, joining Angel Reese, who averaged 21.3 points, and Paige Bueckers, who averaged 24.8 points. These three are the only players this decade to average 20+ points in an NCAA Tournament and win the championship.
UCLA just won its first national title in the NCAA era. Head coach Cori Close’s team not only won but absolutely dismantled Dawn Staley’s South Carolina. It was a blowout victory for the Bruins, as they won 79-51. Dawn’s team was without answers. Their poor shot conversion and UCLA’s relentlessness took the game away from the Gamecocks pretty quickly.
How did UCLA blow out South Carolina in the NCAA Final?
Lauren Betts led the Bruins to a handsome victory on Sunday. However, the bigger star of the show was Gabriela Jaquez. Both Betts and Jaquez ended up with double-doubles. Jaquez scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Betts had 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists.
It was a special win because the six seniors on the team finished their college careers in the best way possible. Moreover, all six contributed to the win. All five starters scored in double digits. Apart from Betts’ 14 and Jaquez’s 21, Kiki Rice had 10 points with 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Gianna Kneepkens ended up with 15 points and 4 assists. Charlisse Leger-Walker also scored 10 points. The sixth senior, Angela Dugalic, had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench.
The team effort that crowned UCLA the champions was completely missing from South Carolina. South Carolina missed easy layups and jumpers across the board. Their three-point shooting was poor.
Tessa Johnson was the only silver lining in the dark cloud of Dawn Staley’s team’s NCAA final performance. She had 14 points with 3 rebounds. Nobody else really stepped up to the challenge. Had they been on the money, it would have been surely a closer game if not a different result, given the Gamecocks being such a quality team.
Read more:
Caitlin Clark Drops 3-Word Reaction for Gabriela Jaquez’s Insane NCAA Final Performance
Who Are Gabriela Jaquez’s Parents? Know More About UCLA Star’s Brother Jaime Jaquez Jr. And Family
Dawn Staley’s Gesture Trolls Controversy With Geno Auriemma After Handshake With Cori Close
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