PHOENIX (AP) — Gabriela Jaquez scored 21 points, Lauren Betts added 16 and UCLA routed South Carolina 79-51 Sunday to win its first NCAA championship in women’s basketball. The near-record lopsided victory completed the Bruins’ journey through this year’s March Madness that started following a loss to UConn in last season’s Final Four. The Bruins ran through their opponents this season with their only loss coming in November, to Texas in a Thanksgiving tournament. UCLA (37-1) was led by Betts and her fellow seniors and graduate students, like Jaquez _ who played all four years with the Bruins. She also had 10 rebounds and five assists in front of her brother Jaime, who plays for the Miami Heat and flew in to attend the game to watch his alma mater win.
PHOENIX (AP) — South Carolina’s quest to win a fourth national title ended in ugly fashion for a second straight season when the Gamecocks lost to UCLA 79-51 in the NCAA women’s basketball title game. Even so, the monster program that Dawn Staley has built over the past 15 years doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. South Carolina should be one of the top contenders to make a seventh straight Final Four in 2027 and it will have plenty of motivation after Sunday’s debacle. The Gamecocks shot just 29% from the field and the 28-point margin was among the biggest in championship game history.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne says he has finalized a contract extension with basketball coach Nate Oats. Byrne announced on social media Oats has signed the deal “that will make him one of the top five compensated men’s basketball coaches in the country.” Byrne says he expects the agreement will soon be formally approved by the athletic board. Oats led Alabama to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where the Crimson Tide lost to Michigan 90-77 on March 27. Alabama reached the Elite Eight each of the previous two years and reached the Final Four in 2024.
PHOENIX (AP) — Raven Johnson was a bright-eyed freshman when South Carolina won the national championship in 2022. While veterans like Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke had competed on the big stage, Johnson had no grasp of the magnitude of the moment. Johnson’s perspective has changed in the past four years, now that she’s the veteran on a Gamecocks team going for its third national title in five seasons. South Carolina will face UCLA Sunday for the national championship after taking down reigning champion UConn on Friday.
PHOENIX (AP) — South Carolina battered and bruised UConn in the women’s NCAA Tournament semifinals, ending the Huskies’ undefeated season while sending their coach to the end of his rope. That was just a prelude to the second Final Four game, in which UCLA turned a rematch into a wrestling match and tapped out Texas’ hopes of a second national title. The officials have swallowed their whistles in this Final Four, which began with the same four teams that played in last year’s national semis. The teams still left standing expect the physical play to continue in Sunday’s national championship game, but they hope it’s not to the same brutal degree.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia has mutually agreed to part ways with women’s basketball coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. The decision came after Georgia finished 22-10 this season with an 82-73 overtime loss to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Abrahamson-Henderson compiled a 69-59 record in four seasons, with only one finish above .500 in Southeastern Conference games. Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said a search for a new coach would begin immediately. Abrahamson-Henderson played at Georgia under coach Andy Landers, who took the Lady Bulldogs to 31 NCAA Tournaments, including five Final Fours, in his 36 seasons.
UNDATED (AP) — President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at fixing college sports that would give federal agencies authority to cut funding at schools that don’t comply with mandates covering transfers, eligibility and pay-for-play in the rapidly changing industry. The order is a laundry list of proposed fixes that lawmakers and college leaders have been pushing for. Among the notable parts of the order was a call to establish “clear, consistent and fair eligibility limits, including a five-year participation window.”
