Cori Close completes her masterpiece as UCLA women's basketball wins first NCAA title

Apr 5, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close cuts down the net after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks during the National Championship game of the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center. PHOENIX – Cori Close’s Mona Lisa is complete. The longtime UCLA coach put the finishing touches on a masterpiece that’s taken four years to finish, leading her senior-laden group to the program’s first ever NCAA championship in women’s basketball.

The Bruins dominated a South Carolina group that was teetering on the edge of its own dynasty, leading by as many as xx points en route to a historically dominant 79-51 title game win. Not only did UCLA dominate a stalwart program to earn its first title, it did so in a way that was perfectly exemplary of the roster that Close spent the last half decade building and developing. All five of UCLA’s senior starters scored in double-figures, highlighted by a banner day from four-year Bruin Gabriela Jaquez.

Jaquez scored 21 points, collected 11 rebounds and dished out five assists in the win and had a strong case to earn Tournament MOP honors despite the award ultimately going to Lauren Betts. Promises fulfilled Jaquez was the headliner of UCLA’s 2022 recruiting class that was touted as the best in program history before it had even played a game, in addition to entering with an already iconic last name in UCLA basketball lore thanks to her older brother Jaime. Despite those gargantuan expectations, Jaquez never wavered in her stint at Westwood.

In large part because of her relationship with Close. “She works so hard,” Jaquez said. “She cares so much.