Defense makes up for lack of offense to punch UCLA's ticket to the NCAA Championship

UCLA forward Lauren Betts (51) and guard Gianna Kneepkens (8) celebrate against Texas at Mortgage Matchup Center during a Final Four semifinal game in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. PHOENIX - Friday's Final Four games were hosted in Phoenix, AZ, but it might as well have been the Twilight Zone. On a day that had seemingly been defined by Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley getting into a postgame spat after South Carolina's victory over UConn, UCLA and Texas topped it with one of the lowest scoring games in women's Final Four history.

"I wanted to apologize to all the fans for the rugby match and the 23 turnovers," UCLA head coach Cori Close said after the game. UCLA ADVANCES TO ITS FIRST NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 🐻 THE BRUINS TAKE DOWN THE LONGHORNS IN A WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN🔥 pic. twitter.

com/SRvSErs7nh — ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2026 UCLA clearly learned their lesson, at least half of it, from the way that the Duke Blue Devils made them sweat in the Elite Eight. Their defense was tenacious to start the game, keeping a Longhorns team that has usually blown up scoreboards to just six points in the first quarter, the second-least points scored in a quarter in Final Four history. Shutting down Booker Madison Booker, a Player of the Year candidate, was all but nonexistent, despite playing 27 straight minutes without a substitution.

Booker finished the game just 3-23 from the field and 0-4 from three point range and at one point missed 17 straight shots. "All the respect to her [Booker], but Gabs [Jaquez] and all my teammates that played on her, Angela [Dugalic] played on her... just did an incredible job pressing up, making the shots difficult," senior guard Gianna Kneepkens said.