In absolute dominant fashion, the UCLA Women’s Basketball Team conquered triumph, routing the South Carolina GameCocks 79-51 to cap off an amazing NCAA Tournament run and earn their first Women’s National Title. With their Championship victory on Sunday, the Bruins became one of only three schools to win a National Championship in football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball alongside Maryland and Stanford.
And once again, Dawn Staley faces another grim defeat in the championship after losing in strikingly resemblant fashion of last year’s title game against the UConn Huskies in a 82-59 defeat.
The Bruins completely shut down the South Carolina offense, holding the GameCocks to a 29% shooting percentage from the field—a stat that appears to be a season-low for the elite squad. UCLA sprung to an early double digit lead in the first quarter,and never looked back. The Bruins shot 44% from the field and led by as many as 35 points. The story of the night was the difference from beyond the arc as UCLA went 8/19 from three-point land while South Carolina went 2/15. The score certainly remains a shock as South Carolina dominated all of their tournament matchups, including a 62-48 victory over an undefeated and seemingly unstoppable UConn team. However, they faced their largest deficit of the season in the third quarter (22) before enduring further insult to injury through another scoring run from an unrelenting UCLA team who was hungry for their first title. UCLA outscored South Carolina 25-9 in the third quarter to put the nail in the coffin and cement a monumental victory for a hardworking and determined Bruins organization.
In a postgame interview, Dawn Staley gave a very classy response to the massacre loss that the GameCocks faced, admitting that the squad “got smacked and have to figure out how to ‘smack back’ and put [their] selves in the position where [they] are hoisting the trophy at the end of the day” courtesy of ESPN. She admitted that the better squad one, stating that her team lost to a great team and an even greater person, referring to UCLA’s coach Cori Close. Staley’s resilience and sportsmanship after facing tough losses in consecutive title games shows why she is regarded as one of the best women’s basketball coaches of all time.
While the game may not have been the most competitive, it showcased an almost flawless performance from a team who dominated their entire field during the tournament. UCLA has worked incredibly hard to avenge their defeat from last year’s final four—-and the Bruins did just that after coming out on top in an absolutely one-sided title game.
