UCLA survives late surge from Texas to make first NCAA title game

PHOENIX — There could be no offensive showcase between UCLA and Texas on Friday evening, a slog of a sport that ended up as one of many lowest scoring in girls’s Closing 4 historical past. The Bruins did simply sufficient to offer themselves an opportunity to win the primary NCAA championship within the NCAA event period.

Behind Lauren Betts and a defensive efficiency that stifled Madison Booker and the Longhorns, UCLA held off a late Texas run and avenged its solely lack of the season 51-44 within the semifinals, establishing a title sport showdown towards South Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

“All you may ask for is a chance to play your greatest basketball for a nationwide championship,” UCLA coach Cori Shut stated.

UCLA, which has received 30 straight video games since dropping to Texas on Nov. 26, reached the title sport for the primary time in program historical past, although the Bruins did win the AIAW Massive Faculty championship in 1978. Ann Meyers Drysdale and several other different gamers on the 1978 staff had been on the sport, and Shut made positive to acknowledge her and the precedent that group set.

For the Bruins, it felt a bit like redemption, not solely as a result of they fell to Texas 76-65 in November, but in addition as a result of their Closing 4 exhibiting final yr because the No. 1 general seed resulted in an 85-51 blowout loss to UConn. UCLA coach Cori Shut instructed reporters within the leadup to Friday’s sport that she had completed a “crappy job as a pacesetter.” Gamers vowed to do higher.

“Final yr we took that loss actually onerous,” Betts stated. “I feel it made us assume quite a bit about what we may have completed higher, not simply in apply however as a staff, management, having the ability to have powerful conversations. I am simply actually happy with the expansion and the best way that we have held such a excessive commonplace constantly this yr.”

The Bruins superior, however nothing about Friday’s victory was fairly. UCLA, which averages 85.1 factors, had its justifiable share of points scoring on the stifling Texas protection. UCLA had 23 turnovers, probably the most in a Closing 4 sport since April 8, 2008, when Stanford had 24 towards Tennessee.

However Texas fared worse and scored a season-low 44 factors on simply 30.8% capturing from the sphere, trying nothing just like the staff that had reeled off 12 straight wins after a loss to Vanderbilt in November wherein coach Vic Schaefer questioned his staff’s toughness. Booker, who averaged 19.3 factors per sport this season, had a season-low six factors on 3-of-23 capturing.

“We could not make a shot tonight, and that is been my concern the final three days,” Schaefer stated. “And this is not the place to air out our laundry, however we had multiple event the place we would have a play known as … and we simply weren’t in the precise place, individuals out of place. Typically these items occur on this stage and it isn’t anyone’s fault.”

Schaefer added: “I don’t know why the great Lord picked tonight for us to not be capable of make a shot. I feel we really feel like in our locker room, we let one get away. I feel this one will hang-out me because the coach for in all probability until the day I die.”

Shut stated she knew this sport was going to come back all the way down to protection, however she by no means anticipated it to play out this fashion, apologizing to the followers “for the rugby match and 23 turnovers.” However she additionally instructed her staff after beating Iowa 96-45 within the Massive Ten title sport, “You can not fall in love with fairly offense and assume that it should be like this each sport.”

“I instructed them there’s going to be a sport within the NCAA event that you will have to simply grind it out and do it along with your protection,” Shut stated. “This was the sport we wanted that. However the actuality is, it is actually all about toughness at this level and discovering a option to make a successful play, even when it is a successful play you would not have predicted or chosen.”

Texas couldn’t hit an open shot for lengthy stretches, and Booker struggled. After making her first shot of the sport, she missed 17 straight, the longest drought by any participant in Closing 4 historical past. It was a stark distinction to their win over the Bruins in November, when Booker had 16 factors and Rori Harmon had 26.

In that sport, Betts scored solely eight factors. She was decided to alter that in Friday’s rematch, and in a sport wherein factors had been at a premium, she did sufficient to say her presence within the paint to be a difference-maker. Betts led UCLA with 16 factors on 7-of-10 capturing and had 11 rebounds.

Given the scoring points for each groups, the sport stayed tight by the primary three quarters. UCLA led 31-28 leaded into the fourth, however a 7-0 run broke the sport open, keyed by a 3-pointer from Kiki Rice on the 9:04 mark after which a layup by Gabriela Jaquez to offer the Bruins a double-digit lead.

UCLA led by 13 factors with 4:36 to play, however Texas whittled that lead all the way down to 47-44 with 55.8 seconds remaining, as its defensive depth pressured UCLA to show the ball over and miss photographs. Following a missed jumper by Angela Dugalic with 30 seconds left, Booker went for a layup, however Betts blocked the shot with 20 seconds remaining. Rice made two free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

“Your complete sport the coaches are simply constantly telling me dash again, dash again, dash again,” Betts stated. “As quickly as I noticed [Booker] getting downhill, I am like, all proper, please block this, simply do not let her rating.”

UCLA set the defensive tone early within the sport, contesting practically each shot and holding Texas to simply six first-quarter factors — tied for the second-fewest factors in 1 / 4 within the Closing 4 since quarters had been adopted in 2016. However within the second quarter, the Bruins scored simply six factors themselves.

All of it added as much as changing into simply the third time in Closing 4 historical past that the groups mixed for fewer than 100 factors in a sport.

However what does that matter if you find yourself standing on the verge of college historical past?

“That is what all of us got here right here to do,” Jaquez stated. “Simply tremendous happy with us to get us to the possibility to have one other alternative to play for a nationwide championship.”

ESPN’s Michael Voepel contributed to this report.