UCLA women's basketball out to author Final Four redemption story

UCLA women's basketball (33-1) wants another chance at redeeming its 2025 Final Four loss. Last season, the UConn Huskies beat the Bruins in the semifinals, 85-51, before defeating South Carolina in the national championship game. UCLA head coach Cori Close told USA TODAY Sports after the Bruins lost, she felt she had failed as a leader.

Close also shared, according to many players, the season's devastating end tarnished the memory of the best year in UCLA women's basketball history. Senior guard Gabriela Jaquez recently confirmed that notion to USA TODAY Sports. "A lot of us kinda forgot the great year that we did have because of how we lost," Jaquez said while promoting a partnership with Great Clips .

"We all had to take a second to remind ourselves of what we accomplished last year and acknowledge that, but then at the same time, understand that that loss did hurt us, and we do need to improve to be better (this year). " The 2024-25 Bruins went 30-2 in the regular season, winning 30 matchups for the first time, a program record. UCLA also won its first Big Ten championship, and the Bruins then earned the No.

1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament , another program first. Jaquez and her teammates cruised through the first, second and Sweet 16 rounds of March Madness before meeting LSU in the Elite Eight. UCLA withstood a late fourth-quarter surge from the Tigers before punching their ticket to the Final Four.