UCLA flexes the depth, LSU edges to earn the first trip to the finals four
Spokane, Wash.- The coach of the UCLA CORI Close crogified in confetti in the middle of the field on Sunday afternoon after his Bruins defeated LSU, 72-65. While the UCLA had been seed n. 1 In the female NCAA tournament, their path to the top four finals of the program had not been easy.
In the second round, the dear Mid-Major Richmond hung the Bruins soon. The same happened in the Sweet 16 when Ole Miss in defensive mentality remained. The level of difficulty has increased further against the LSU, which was in its third consecutive elite appearance.
With the 6 feet center-7-feet-7 Lauren Betts who put in the first problems, the Bruins had to turn to their depth-Coach chori close coaches soon and often with a strong replacement-to finish the work against the tigers.
“We had to choose the four letters on the front of our shirts and we didn’t worry about the back,” said Close.
Although this is the first appearance of the Final Four of the NCAA for the Bruins, the program has gone twice at the Final Four Aiaw, winning the tournament in 1979. However, during the modern era, the UCLA has never been able to establish that type of domination, advancing at the Eight Twice Elys (1999 and 2018) before this season but never go further.
The Bruins gave a hand to their ticket with a team performance, which is both rare and emblematic of today’s ecosystem of women’s basketball. The Bruins present key transfers that collected from the portal such as Betts (Stanford), Janiah Barker (Texas A&M) and Timea Gardiner (Oregon State). But Close was also able to maintain a list of players who started their career at the UCLA. In particular, Close has been able to keep his 2022 class of Kiki Rice (n. 2), Gabriela Jaquez (n. 19) and Londynn Jones (n. 22) together.
“It means a lot for me because of the people I can share with,” said Close. “I’m just grateful.”
For the first time in the history of the program, the UCLA is heading towards the Final Four of women 🐻@Uclawbb | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/ivgztk4ni8
– The Athletic (@Theathletic) March 30, 2025
Even a foul problem does not slow down the bets
Although Betts needed to sit for the entire second quarter after collecting his second foul in the last minute of the first, the center still found a way to have an impact and was the main focal point of the defensive energy of the tigers. The Senior striker of the LSU Sa’myah Smith collected the main task of defending Betts, but he had the help of the double teams active on almost every touch of the paint while trying not to let his post too deeply.
Betts – the most exceptional player in the Spokane region 1 – has still finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, but the tigers did his job for each point. Defensively, it was Stalwart, blocking six shots and hitting many others.
The 3 -point shot from the UCLA explodes
When Betts went to the bench at the end of the first quarter, it seemed a decisive moment for the tigers if they had made a race. Instead, the Bruins leaned on their range without Betts and started to break down 3S.
After going 1 in 4 from beyond the arch in the opening neighborhood, the Bruins have connected on four long-haul shots in the second, with one from Jaquez and Gardiner who made a perfect 3-to-3. That 12-point cap from beyond the arch gave the UCLA the pillow he needed in the second quarter while the Bruins passed the tigers 22-12.
That hot strip continued in the third while Londynn Jones knocked down a quick 3 to give us the tone in the second half. Jaquez knocked down his third of the game in the middle of the third quarter, making the tigers call the Timeout after the Aula advantage had been mounted at 14.
In total, the Bruins made 10 3 episodes on the day, only three shy of their season.
Johnson bounces from the poor shooting night 16
After going 1 in 8 from the floor in the Sweet 16 against the state of the NC for a three -point season, Flau’jae Johnson of the LSU told journalists that he would have no problems eliminating that performance. When asked about what he does to overcome such a game, Johnson said he had to remember what happened in that game. When he was told that he had only three points, he said, with a laugh: “for real? I forgot about it.”
And he did it clearly.
Against the UCLA, Johnson has shown that he is the perimeter spark of which the necessary tigers, especially in the second half. After going 2 out of 7 from the floor for four points during the first two quarters, the Junior showed how he could also empty that performance, taking over for his team when he had more. In the second half, Johnson turned on the tigers, scoring 24 points of the second half on shooting 8 out of 9, keeping them almost alone in the game. He led all the markers with 28 points.
Johnson has not definitively said if he intends to return to LSU next season. Since he turns 22 before the end of 2025, the Junior could choose to put his name for the draft of Wnba.
(Photo: Steph Chamber / Getty Images)
